


Harkbacker

by VirgilVirgilVirgil



Series: Gravity [6]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Brother-Sister Relationships, Clones, F/M, Father-Daughter Relationship, Father-Son Relationship, Fatherhood, Friendship, Infertility, Loss, M/M, Original Character(s), Past Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-16
Updated: 2017-09-22
Packaged: 2018-12-24 04:56:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 69,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12005484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VirgilVirgilVirgil/pseuds/VirgilVirgilVirgil
Summary: Nearly two decades after their first meeting, a decade after faking his death to escape prosecution from the Republic for the destruction of the Hosnian system, Armitage Hux runs into two old friends -- the son and daughter of an infamous Imperial Grand Admiral. There was a rumor among the old Imperials, more of a legend than anything, that their father anonymously purchased good deal of cloning equipment shortly before the fall of the Empire. His children don't think it's a legend. In fact, they think they know where the equipment is and want help recovering it to solve a mystery: What exactly was their father's intention with cloning equipment when he had two perfectly healthy offspring?*I advise readingSecretsprior to this story, for some background. All other stories in the series are unnecessary, but would provide good additional background.*





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> To all the old readers: Welcome back! I'm excited to be moving forward with this timeline, and endlessly flattered by anyone who's following along!
> 
> New readers: I highly suggest reading _Secrets_ prior to this story. _Guilt & Whiskey_, _A Monster Without Teeth_ , and _Shark Attack_ are beneficial for background story (particularly for all the OC's), but not as necessary. Check out the spoilers section of my blog if you want to skip the prequels but don't want to miss any important plot points.

Sev sat back in the leather cushioned seat, looking around the bar narrowly. “So… what the fuck kind of a bar is this?”

Cohren flinched. Sev was always a little louder than any of them would prefer. “Do you only have one volume?”

Sev grinned, baring his teeth, “I can be louder.”

“Everyone here is…” Pip trailed off, looking around the bar.

“Ridiculously beautiful and a little weird?”

She pointed at Sev, “Yes. That is exactly what I was thinking. Seriously…” She subtly motioned to the table across from them, “Look at that.”

The table had a small group: two young, well-dressed human men and five stunningly beautiful Twi’lek women.

Sev leaned in toward the center of the table, encouraging the rest of them to lean in closer as well. He spoke quietly: “How much do you suppose they paid for all five of them?”

Cohren pushed his face into the table, hissing at him. “ _Sev_ , shut your mouth before someone overhears you.”

Sev’s shoulders shook with laughter. He pushed Cohren away. “I wish I could tell you I was joking… but really…”

“Well,” Cerys sat next to Iz with her hand resting on his thigh under the table, “I mean it’s not bad here. It’s just… different from what we’re used to.”

Iz snaked his arm around her waist, pulling her a little closer and kissing her temple. She seemed to give him constant little reminders like this of why he chose to stay with her. “Well, let’s enjoy it while we can. We’re only here for a few days before the ship takes off again, then we have a few weeks before we get another break.”

Pip nodded. “Hux is good about these things. He knows his crew is getting exhausted and needs a break. It was a good idea to stop here for a few days.” His sister had been working in the supplies section of Hux’s little fleet, but was hugely underutilized there. He wasn’t being biased about it either – Hux made several attempts to get her to work as his personal assistant – she was clever, well spoken, and a quick learner. She reminded him a lot of their father. Unfortunately, in the year since she’d been living with them, she still hadn’t been able to adjust to Hux – or who he used to be. He didn’t really blame her. Iz even struggled with it from time to time; he just had Cerys there to remind him that her father was essentially not the same person any more.

Sev punched Cohren’s arm, making a very obvious motion to a couple tucked into a far dark corner of the bar. “Seriously. Look at those two.” The woman was leggy, with dark, wavy hair and the man was an inordinately handsome looking Chiss with a crisp white top that made his blue skin look brilliant. “Fuck. Cohren, I think they have us beat out for best looking couple in the bar.”

Cohren looked like he was about to tell Sev to keep his mouth shut again, but instead nodded a little. “I think you’re right, actually.”

Sev scratched his chin, glaring at the two for a moment like he was actually offended by how good looking they were. “I need another drink.” He stood, “Pip, you’re out too.”

Pip looked at her empty glass. “Yep, I need more.” She popped up to join him.

Sev pointed to him and Cerys, “What about the children here? Do they need more juice?”

Neither he nor Cerys drank; Sev always made a point to tease them for it when they went out.

Cerys gave him a forced grin, “I think we’re good, but thank you Sev.”

Pip and Sev walked off to the bar, and Cohren watched after him with all too obvious interest. Iz had always thought of Cohren as highly reserved, and he certainly was, but after just a few drinks with Sev around and his usually subtle glances toward his partner became comically obvious. Iz was happy for both of them. Their relationship was completely unexpected, but they were both clearly so happy with each other.

“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get him to control his mouth.” Cohren shook his head a little.

Iz laughed, “If Sev learned to censor himself he’d cease to be Sev. He’s been that way as long as I’ve known him – it’s fundamental to who he is.”

Cerys frowned a little, “Yes, well it would be nice if he at least had an ounce of awareness about these things.”

He rolled his eyes, looking at Cohren, “Admit it – he wouldn’t be the same person if he were well behaved.”

Cohren shrugged, “He certainly wouldn’t be as entertaining, that’s for sure. I am a little nervous about it though. My brother and my niece are on their way. We’ll have to leave soon to meet up with them.”

Iz waved, “He’ll be fine.”

“I’m not worried about _him_ , of course he’ll be fine. I’m a little concerned he’s going to say something outrageous around my little niece… She’s only four, you know.”

Cerys frowned. “Nobody that impressionable should be around Sev.” 

Iz’s attention drifted from their conversation when he noticed the two at the bar – two men had surrounded his sister, clearly interested in her from their body language. She, from her body language, was clearly very uninterested. He wasn’t really concerned by the scene. His sister tended to be very blunt about these matters, and further, she had Sev with her, who would likely send both of them to the hospital if they behaved inappropriately toward Pip.

Sure enough, one of the men placed a hand on her wrist and Sev -- in and unnecessarily aggressive manner -- shoved the man back. Sev had gotten himself into brawls at nearly every bar they’d gone to, and this wouldn’t be the first over someone making uncalled for advances toward Pip.

The two men started squaring up, fists clenched. Cerys sighed. “Oh… Is Sev going to do this _again?”_

“I almost feel a little bad for the two. They have no idea what they’re getting into.” Cohren was almost smirking. Iz was under the impression he secretly enjoyed watching Sev wipe the floor with the poor fools that he got into fights with.

Iz got to his feet. “I’ll go stop it.”

He was barely two steps from the table when one of the men threw a punch that Sev easily dodged. Force-enhanced reflexes were a nice benefit. The man looked momentarily embarrassed, and then lunged at Sev, who Force threw him a few feet back. Nothing too drastic; it was more like he was playing with his prey before the kill.

“You’re fucking with the wrong guy.” Sev said with a haughty smirk.

Iz stepped in front of him, “Come on, Sev. This isn’t worth it. Pip’s fine.” He motioned to his sister, who looked relieved he was stepping in to quell the fight. “Come on, I don’t want to get kicked out of this bar as well.”

Sev frowned, “You saw what he did! That was your sister… come on.” He sounded more like he was begging Iz to join him in a fight. _For old time’s sake_ , he’s sure Sev would say.

Iz shook his head. “No. Come on.”

Pip tugged on his arm. “Sev… really. Let’s just have a nice evening for once…”

He threw his arms down and rolled his eyes in a mock hissy fit. “Fine. Damn, you two always ruin my fun.”

As they turned to return to their table, the second man threw a punch at the back of Sev’s head. Again, he easily dodged. He turned back to the man, a nearly gleeful grin on his face. “See, they just keep asking for it!”

“Sev…”

Pip was smart; she backed away quickly. Just as Sev threw his arm out to Force throw the man across the bar, a wave of something he’d never felt before hit Iz. He felt weak, almost a little dizzy.

Sev stood with his arm out, looking puzzled. The man was still standing in front of him. The Force throw didn’t work. He stumbled a little, “Wha…”

Evidently the man he tried to Force throw wasn’t completely stupid; he seized the opportunity to plant his fist firmly into Sev’s nose. Sev stumbled backward, covering his nose, “What the fuck?” Iz understood his confusion. He’d never seen a non-Force user able to land a punch on Sev. Whatever Iz was feeling -- this disconnect from the Force -- Sev was feeling as well.

Sev wiped the blood from his mouth and lunged at the man. Iz stepped in to try and stop it, but the second man joined his friend and Iz was quickly dragged into the fight.

He heard Sev, struggling with the other man, shout: “What the fuck are you doing here Cohren? Iz and I have this!”

“Like hell you do…” Cohren was trying to pull the other man off Sev, but got punched in the face. Naturally, Sev did not like this.

The brawl continued for a few moments until a sixth pair of feet, wearing tall black boots, stepped in. The boots planted a firm kick into the ribs of the man Iz was tangled with. He backed away quickly, looking up to his savior.

It was the man he’d noticed sitting in a dark corner of the bar – the good looking Chiss. He didn’t appear pleased to be involved. He crouched down next to Iz and picked something yellow up off the floor.  “Roz, you’re going to get crushed over here…” His voice was deep and even, with a thick, rhythmic accent Iz didn’t recognize.

The man turned to the other three and pried Sev away powerfully -- he stumbled back, wiping at his still bloody mouth, “Who the fuck are you? Stay out of my fi...”

The Chiss turned to the man he and Cohren had been brawling with, looking intimidating and powerful. “You and your friend will leave, _now_.”

Maybe it was something about the way his red eyes seemed to glow, but he was downright frightening. The two looked at each other before cursing at the Chiss and pushing past him aggressively, one of them spitting on the man’s boots as they left.

The lanky dark haired woman who was with him earlier stood near the bar with her arms crossed. She handed him a napkin and said something inaudible as the Chiss wiped his boot clean. He finished cleaning and stood, nodding to her. She brushed some invisible dust from his shoulder, and the two headed for the exit.

Cerys was at his side, “Iz, are you okay? What happened? I’ve never seen either of you actually take a hit…”

“I… Yeah… That was…” He looked to Sev, who looked back at him with the same confused expression. Cohren was trying to talk the bartender into giving him a napkin so Sev could clean the blood from his face, but the bartender didn’t look overly thrilled that any of them were still in his bar.

Wiping the blood from his face with his sleeve, Sev walked over to him. “You felt that too?”

“Yeah… I kept trying to use the Force, but I just couldn’t tap into it.”

“Sev… seriously, you’re getting your shirt filthy.” Cohren pushed a wet napkin into his hand, “Wipe your face.”

Sev mumbled something to him; Iz was distracted by his sister, who was still standing where she’d safely backed away to, her eyes absolutely huge with shock. He got up from the floor and went to her. “Pip, are you okay?”

“Did any of you see that?”

“See what?”

“Us getting our asses kicked? Yeah, I noticed.” Sev said flatly, finally managing to get the blood off his face.

“That man… the Chiss… he had… one of those yellow lizards…” She shook her head quickly and hurried off for the door. “Hang on... I think I know who that was.”

 

**

 

Pip nearly plowed right into Armitage as she came running out of the bar. He’d received an angry message from the bartender of this establishment – a few of his crew were causing problems at the bar. When the bartender mentioned a very tall blonde man among them, he’d known immediately who the problem was. Cohren was the tall blonde, but his partner Sev was _always_ the problem.

“What the hell were you all thinking? I get a call this late at night that you’re involved in some fight…”

Pip looked around wildly, like she was trying to find someone. “Sorry… Sorry… just… did you see a Chiss out here?”

“A… Chiss? In these parts? No…”

“But he just left! There was a Chiss and a thin woman with dark hair. I think she was human, but it also looked like her eyes were solid black…”

“No, I haven't seen…” What an oddly specific description. He paused. “What?”

Pip tried to push around him, “They must be near; they can’t have gone far…”

He blocked her, “Before we get to that, we all need to have a conversation. I cannot have you all…”

He could practically hear Sev roll his eyes. He elbowed his partner, “Hey… Cohren. Isn’t your brother supposed to be here? Like now? Don’t we have to go? _Now?”_

Why Phasma’s boy had bothered paring off with the man, he’d never know. Cohren was a well-rounded, honest man. Sev was more or less the exact opposite of that.

“Ah…” Cohren gave him an apologetic look. “Actually, we do need to go. I’m really sorry…” The two hurried off.

Armitage turned to the remaining three, frowning. “Well, you three are at least smart enough to know what you’ve done wrong. But you need to get control of Sev, or stop being around him. He instigates these things, and he’s going to give our organization a poor reputation…”

Pip was still looking around. “But really? You didn’t see him? The Chiss? You’re sure?”

“No.” He said shortly. “What is all this about a Chiss?”

“He helped stop the fight.” Iz explained. “But he and the woman he was with left before we could even get their names, much less thank them. Do you know what the yellow thing was, Pip?”

“It was a little lizard thing, I think…” She cast Armitage a glance, and shook her head. “It was just very odd.”

A Chiss with a yellow lizard. That was certainly suspicious. Pip, he was surprised to find shortly after meeting her, happened to have an interest in history, particularly military history. No doubt the rumors from the days of the First Order – a powerful Chiss admiral that carted a yellow lizard-like creature on his shoulders from time to time – were familiar to her.

Even more suspicious – and terrifying – to Hux was the mention that he’d been accompanied by a woman with solid black eyes.

“It must have been a pet or something. I think he had a name for it… Roz?” Iz said offhandedly.

Armitage’s stomach lurched. There was no possible way those two were here… it would be far too huge a coincidence. He sniffed and stood straight. “You three, back to your quarters now. That’s an order.”

“But…”

“No. Back to your quarters. Now.”

Pip frowned up at him. He felt a stab of guilt – she didn’t like being spoken to in such a manner, especially not by him. She was right, too. He had absolutely no business ordering her or her brother around.

He shook his head, speaking in a softer tone. “It’s not who you think it is, Pip. Go back.”

She gave him a suspicious look, and left with the other two to return to their ship. His stomach felt like it was suspended mid-air, about to drop. He couldn’t imagine what those two would be doing here… they weren’t close to Nivo or Csilla. Unless…

Unless they were looking for him.

The thought terrified him. Why would _she_ be looking for him?

He hurried off, taking a route that ran along a nearby park. Several hotels were situated around the park to give overnighters a nice view – he thought it might be likely they’d be in the area. He walked in the dark for nearly 30 minutes, but didn’t see signs of either of them. Feeling confused and frustrated, he made his way back to his ship.

It couldn’t have been a mere coincidence. He hadn’t thought of either of them in years, it seemed so strange that they would just appear back into his life at this moment, on this random planet he’d made the decision to let his crew rest on for a few days. Why would they be here, of all places? Why would they be…

Standing right in front of his ship, looking like they were trying to find a way in without appearing suspicious to the guards.

Whatever force had his stomach suspended mid-air let it drop. He opened his mouth and words tumbled out before he really had time to consider them: “What are you two doing here?”

The two turned to him. Oni’s eyes were the same as he’d remembered them: huge and dark and expressive. “You… You’re alive?”

How could he even begin to respond to that? “I… er… yes. I am.”

He’d forgotten how long her legs were – she strode to him in a few long steps and threw her arms around him. “I’m so happy… I thought… I really thought you were gone… There were rumors you were alive but I thought they were likely false…”

“Er…” He sighed through a face full of her hair. “It’s good to see you, Oni.” He tried to nod to Baz, who appeared to be laughing at his sister. “You as well, Baz.”

“It’s far better to see you, Hux. I really thought we wouldn’t find you. The ship was suspicious though.” He motioned to Hux’s repurposed First Order ship.

“Oh…” Oni fell back from him, blinking rapidly and trying to hide a few tears. “You must have a _very_ good story to tell…”

He felt a little dizzy. How could he even begin to explain everything that’d happened in the nearly two decades that had passed? He shook his head. “Yes. Yes, there’s a lot to cover. What are you two doing here? Have you been looking for me?”

They glanced to each other. “Well,” Baz said, “we have a sort of issue local to this area. We needed some help. Oni heard a rumor that you might be around here, so we decided we might as well look.”

“Mostly just for…” Oni paused looking at him, “Mostly for closure. But here you are. Alive.”

Yep. Alive. He shook his head. “Would you two care to come on my ship? It sounds like you have something you’d like to discuss. And we have some… some years to catch up on.”

Baz glanced back to Armitage’s ship. “Will your guards allow us on?”

He waved the comment off, leading them inside. “Of course. Of course. You two are _always_ welcome on my ship.”

 

 

Oni said as she took a seat, straightening her cuffs. “I believe it is in order to discuss business after we’ve caught up.” She blinked at him with big, inky-black eyes. He remembered thinking, when he first met her, that her eyes made her look a little alien in a very beautiful way. That was before he found out that she actually was a little bit alien. “How are you alive?”

The last thing wanted to talk about, or even think about, was Mila. It’d been two years since she passed, but he felt like the wound was ripped open, fresh with pain, every single day. “I had some aid faking my death to the Republic.”

“But where have you been? You must have been very well hidden… I didn’t even know you were alive.”

“I spent a good deal of time on a very remote planet living more or less in isolation. This… this ship, this organization, only came into play about two years ago.”

She nodded slowly.  “That does make sense. That’s about the time I started hearing rumors you might be alive.”

“The people here understand. They keep quiet, which I appreciate. And I’m as discrete as possible, given my position.”

“And you have built something good here. I’ve heard of this organization, it’s grown a great deal in the past few years. I should have pieced it together.”

“Thank you. I have a good crew, I owe it very much to them.” He paused. There was also that other thing… he should just mention it now. Get it out of the way. “I… have a daughter?” He really didn’t intend for it to sound like a question, but it did.

Both of their expressions were exactly what he expected: utter shock.

“Her name is Cerys, I believe you may have run into her earlier… helping out with a bar fight?”

Baz’s mouth dropped open. “Oh! The girl with the orange hair? Yes, I noticed her… were those her friends?”

Oni hummed. “Lucky girl, she got your hair color…”

Armitage laughed to himself. “Yes, those are her friends. They came tearing out of the bar; I think they intended to track you both down to thank you. When they told me a Chiss with a yellow lizard and a woman with black eyes had just helped them out…” He shook his head. “I’m sorry for any trouble they may have caused you. They really are good kids… well, other than the spastic one with the neck tattoo; I’m not quite sure about him. But the others mean well.”

“No, no, it wasn’t a problem.”

“The fight wasn’t even their fault. A few men were misbehaving toward the little one. They were just defending her.”

Armitage frowned. So the whole fight was for Pip. He shouldn’t be quite so upset with them then. He motioned across his desk to them, “And what of you two? Oni, I’ve heard good things of you and your business.”

About five years after he’d left her on Nivo, he overheard she started a business – TizoTech, a company specializing in cyber security and defense systems. They’d built a name for themselves quickly, and currently were renowned as the largest, most powerful tech company in the region. He laughed when he first heard the name – taken from that ugly yellow ysalamir that was her childhood pet.

She nodded. “I have kept busy.”

To say the least. He wondered how she was able to escape her duties as the head of the business for this trip.

“Baz has been doing good things as well, on Nivo.”

He smiled. “Not quite as far-reaching as Oni’s work, but I’ve been involved in politics on the planet for awhile now. Trying to push Nivo in a new direction – get them to be a little more open to new ideas. Progress is slow, but we’ve been fairly successful with it so far.”

Oni grinned at her brother. “He is far too modest. He’s helped push a few huge border policy changes on Nivo, and was a large reason Nivo now has an exploratory force that patrols the space around the planet.”

Armitage scratched his chin. “I really expected you to leave Nivo, Baz. You seemed very curious about everything outside that little moon.”

“Ah, I will never leave Nivo. It is my home. I do travel when work allows, though.”

Hux nodded slowly. “Good. It sounds like you two are both doing well.” He leaned back in his chair. “So what brings you here?”

“So...” Oni chewed her lip, looking at her brother. “Something has happened. Are you familiar with the planet D’Skor?”

“I am.” It was in the region they were currently in. The only reason he was actually familiar with the planet was because it recently made news in the area. D’Skor was a relatively sparsely populated planet. It had recently been devastated by a massive super volcano erupting. What little sentient population inhabited the planet had been completely annihilated. Rescue efforts were still underway, but as it stood not a single survivor had been found.

“I have reason to believe our father left something there. This is a very personal matter. I wanted to keep my company uninvolved to avoid any conflict of interest. And to avoid any rumors.”

“Understood. What is it you think he left there?”

She looked to Baz again, but he was looking away at the wall, frowning. “I have yet to figure the man out.”

Oni sighed. “I found some old records from nearly forty years ago – old Republic cloning equipment that had made its way to D’Skor. From an unknown source.”

He leaned forward on his desk, weaving his fingers together. _This_ was interesting. “Cloning equipment? I remember hearing rumors from some of the officers of Brendol’s generation that a bunch of cloning equipment disappeared from the markets around the time your father defected back to the Chiss. They were dismissed as rumors, more like a myth than anything else. Do you think he intended to clone himself?”

Baz huffed and muttered something, massaging his temples. “I like to think that my father would not have chosen to clone himself, particularly when he has us to carry on his lineage… but I can’t profess to understand anything about the decisions he made.”

“I tend to agree with Baz,” Oni said slowly. “But I fear that he may have intended to clone himself. I took some scans of the planet and located an underground cavern; I believe that is likely the location of the equipment. Thermal scans showed no signs of life. We will not find anyone there. But…”

“But I think Oni and I would both like some clarity about what exactly our father was thinking.”

Oni nodded. “It would be a simple mission – we would only need a small crew to assist, as long as they are trustworthy.” She looked at him with an expression he couldn’t have turned down even if he’d wanted to. “Do you think you can help us?”

“Yes, I absolutely can help you. And I have a crew you can trust as well.”

 

**

 

“Hooooly shit there’s two of you!” Sev looked a little more dazed and delighted than Cohren was comfortable with when he met his older brother.

Merik just laughed, holding his daughter Rooney with one arm and holding his hand out to Sev. “It’s good to finally meet you, Sev.”

Admittedly, he and his brother did look very similar. Merik was only about a year older. He’d chosen to live a very different life than Cohren – he’d married young and had his daughter when he was just past 20. His daughter had worked out well. The marriage hadn’t.

“Yeah. You too.” Sev shook his hand cautiously, like he almost didn’t believe what he was looking at.

Merik bounced the girl on his side, “And this is Rooney.” Rooney was fast asleep, drooling on his shoulder. “It’s pretty late for her.”

It’d been over a year since he’d seen his niece. A lot had happened in that time, for all three of them.

“Let’s head back then,” Cohren said. “We’ve got room ready for both of you.”

 

 

Hux had been unusually sensitive to the situation and managed to make sure Merik and Rooney were given quarters near he and Sev’s cabin. Rooney, unfortunately, didn’t quite make it to bed – she woke up and started fussing, probably afraid because she didn’t know where she was. Remarkably, Sev stepped in and took over, playing with her.

Cohren seized the opportunity to talk with his brother, cracking open beers for both of them. “How are you feeling?”

Merik’s expression made Cohren realize it was a pathetic question. He looked very tired. “I’m just happy to be here.”

He nodded slowly. “Well, we’re happy to have you. Both of you. My friends Iz and Cerys – they love kids. They’ll be more than happy to watch Rooney if you need them to. And Sev and I can help out too. I’m just… I’m just happy to have you back.”

Merik nodded, smiling a little. “This will be a good change for both her and me, I think. I couldn’t… I couldn’t stay there and face everyone who knew.”

Merik had chosen to marry Katia, Rooney’s mother, before he’d even turned 20. Cohren had never been fond of her – she was strangely unstable and had a bad habit of disappearing for periods of time. He’d worried when Rooney was born, that she wouldn’t be reliable for his brother to raise a child with. He fully expected to hear that she’d up and disappear for weeks at a time, leaving Merik to fend for he and his daughter alone. That never happened, though. Rooney was like a wake-up call for her, and she stopped disappearing.

Unfortunately, there was more to the picture, that none of them suspected. Just a few weeks ago, Merik came home from work to find her hurting Rooney, and immediately took the girl and left.

Merik looked at his drink sadly. “I took her to a doctor the day after we left Katia. There's burn marks on her back, they say they’re 6 or 7 months old. I don’t know… I don’t know how I never noticed what was happening.”

“Come on… you can’t blame yourself for this. We all knew Katia was unstable, but none of us ever would have guessed it was this bad. Our mother was even around and she never noticed.” His brother, and his mother, had both been left with a good deal of guilt from the incident. Like they’d somehow failed Rooney. Cohren was of the mind that the only person who had failed was Katia. The second Merik figured out what was going on he’d removed his daughter from the situation, no questions asked. Unfortunately, Katia didn’t respond well. She spent the next few weeks obsessively trying to contact Merik and get to her daughter, like she suddenly really regretted her actions. Merik responded by reporting her to the Guard security forces on his mother’s base, who ensured she wasn’t able to get anywhere near either of them while their mother worked on removing her from the Guard.

Katia reacted to the situation by killing herself.

Hux had been more than happy to take Merik into his branch of the Guard. His brother worked as a trainer, much similar to what his mother used to do. And he was good at it.

Cohren clapped a hand on his shoulder. “It’s going to get easier from here. She’s gone, you’re starting over. And you have all of us to help you. You’re going to like it here. I’ll introduce you to my friends tomorrow; they’re all great, they’ll be really happy to help out.”

Merik’s eyes drifted off to Sev, playing with Rooney in the next room by Force-throwing pillows at her. She was shrieking with laughter. “Are they as good as your guy?”

“Well, I think he’s the best of them, but I’m probably biased.”

Merik smiled. “I’m happy for you. He’s a good guy.”

“He is. I’m lucky.”

They both fell silent, watching the two for a few moments. Cohren was mildly concerned – the pillow tossing was getting slightly more violent, though Rooney responded to Sev's increasing aggression by escalating the situation just as much as he was. She had a fierce streak. She’d do okay.

“Merik… Rooney’s okay. And she’s happy. That’s what matters more than anything, right?”

He nodded, running his fingers over his lips. “Yeah.” He continued to watch Rooney play before turning to Cohren, a nearly desperate look on his face. “Is it completely awful that I wish she would have killed herself before she harmed my daughter?”

Cohren looked at his brother for a long moment. Merik had never been a malicious person. He shook his head. “No. I think it’s normal for you to feel that way.”

 

 

The door to their quarters barely closed before Sev tackled him, wrapping his arms around Cohren’s neck and pulling himself up, clinging to him. Cohren was under the impression Sev enjoyed climbing him. He really didn’t mind. Really.

He pushed Sev back into the wall and bit at his neck, licking along the brightly colored ink laid into his skin. Sev gave a pleased noise and started tugging at the waistband of Cohren’s pants. “I like your family.”

“I’m glad.” Cohren took another mouthful of his neck. “But please don’t talk to me about them when you’re trying to take my pants off.”

Sev laughed.

Cohren could feel it starting – a little prickle in the front of his mind. It was the strangest sensation, when Sev started to get into his head. There was something so thrillingly intimate about it – he couldn’t be sure but sometimes he felt like it worked both ways. Like even though he couldn’t use the Force, he could still see all Sev’s thoughts when they connected.

He’d once asked Cerys if Iz did the same with her. She claimed he didn’t. Cohren felt a little bad for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay tuned for playlists! A sneak peek:
> 
> Hux: Devil Like Me // Rainbow Kitten Surprise (This song honestly could have been the whole playlist, there were times I put it on repeat through entire portions of the story.)
> 
> Pip: I Feel It All // Feist
> 
> Baz: No No No // Beirut
> 
> Cohren x Sev: All Apologies // Sinead O'Connor


	2. Chapter 2

Sev held the little girl up next to Pip, by her ankles. “Let’s take bets: How old do you think she’ll be before she’s taller than Pip? Six? Seven?”

Most of the time Pip hated jokes about her height. Yes, she was very short. She’d heard every joke about it at least 20 times in her life. But it was different with Sev; he knew he was being obnoxious about it. The mere fact that he was conscious of how bothersome he was being made it perfectly okay to her. In fact, Sev was one of the few people she’d ever been able to vent to about the issue. She’d attempted to explain this to Cerys many times – once you got past the vulgar, crass exterior, Sev actually had a remarkable capacity for empathy.

She could already tell Cohren’s brother, Merik, was going to make a fantastic addition to their team. He was kind and friendly, just like Cohren, but a little more snarky and less censored. He and Sev got along very well, and Cohren seemed very happy to have his brother around. It was good for everyone.

She couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to Merik. Despite his amiable demeanor, she got the impression he was somewhat sad. But he was a single father. Maybe he was just tired.

They’d all agreed to meet up for a big welcome-to-the-team breakfast (made by Cerys, of course) the morning after the fight. Sev’s nose, luckily, had healed from the bar fight, and Cohren’s split lip wasn’t looking too bad. She would have to talk to Sev again – he needed to stop starting bar fights “for her”. She could take care of herself; she didn’t need him starting fights to keep her safe. It was fine if he wanted to start them on his own, but he couldn’t use her as an excuse anymore.

Hux’s cryptic statement that the Chiss “wasn’t who she was thinking of” had been haunting her since the night before. Of course Hux recognized a Chiss with a ysalamir made her think of Thrawn, the infamous old Grand Admiral from the days of the Empire. But if he was willing to make the claim that it wasn’t Thrawn, did that mean Hux knew the man from the night prior? What’s more: had Hux known Thrawn himself? She’d never considered that possibility before, but it actually made sense. She would make a point to corner Hux about it later. She wanted to know exactly what was going on – and if he had met Thrawn, she wanted to hear about it.

Her brother had taken over playing with Rooney. He was so good with kids – there was absolutely no doubt in Pip’s mind that she’d likely be an aunt soon. Iz adored Cerys, and always wanted a large family like the one they’d come from. While the rest of them were betting on how soon Rooney would outgrow Pip, Pip was betting how many years she had to wait to be an aunt. Her money was on three more years.

Hux joined them briefly, speaking with Merik. She always laughed to herself when he entered a room. He walked with his shoulders back, posture perfect, nose slightly raised so he somehow managed to appear like he was looking down at everyone. Iz insisted he was a different person; that the man who had fired that terrible weapon was gone long ago. Some of Hux’s mannerisms left her wondering how true that really was. She wanted to move on like her brother had managed to, but she still didn’t feel like she’d ever be able to trust the man.

Hux stood at the end of the table, his hands tucked behind his back. She’d seen him do this a few times before – it was so strange. Somehow the way he stood signaled to everyone that he had something to say. The table fell quiet, without him saying anything.

As much as she’d hated the man’s politics (or what his politics _used to be_ , as her brother would point out to her) she had to admit: he knew how to command attention. He had the sort of demeanor that said respecting him was not an option. She tried to take notes – that was a skill she really could use.

“I have a proposal for you all.” He began. “It’s a short mission, of a personal nature for a few old friends of mine.” He motioned to the door across the room and they all turned.

It was the Chiss and the dark eyed woman from the night before.

“I understand you all encountered these two last night, but I think a more formal introduction is in order. I’d like you all to meet Oni and Baz Sebai.”

Baz wasn’t familiar to her, but Oni Sebai was well known in these regions – she was the somewhat reclusive head of a very large defense technology company. Cerys, ironically, happened to be a huge fan of the woman’s work. Her jaw dropped open and she shot her father a shocked look.

“Oni, Baz, this is my daughter, Cerys Mazelle.”

Oni smiled widely at her. “We will have to speak later, Cerys. I’m terribly curious to ask you a few questions…”

Cerys sounded like she’d swallowed her tongue. “Er… yes! Yes, we should. I had no idea you were friends… with my father.”

“We also have Itzuazua Uru and his sister Pipista Uru, Cohren Phasma and his brother Merik Phasma, and Merik’s daughter Rooney.” He just barely paused, enough to convey the slightest tinge of dread. “And Sev.”

She’d been present for the whole argument between Hux and Sev – Hux insisted that for the sake of processing his paperwork Sev had to have some sort of surname to use, and Sev insisted that he didn’t have one and wouldn’t ever have one and wasn’t about to just make one up for the sake of paperwork. Apparently all the documentation that existed on Sev showed his full legal name as “Seven”, which he adamantly refused to use. As far as he was concerned, his entire name was Sev and it always would be and there didn’t need to be anything else. Hux ended up processing his paperwork under the name “Sev En”, which both of them were unhappy with.

“Oni and Baz have asked for assistance in a personal matter that they would prefer is kept private. For that reason, I thought you all would be the best crew to utilize.” He cast Sev a not too subtle warning glance. “This will be a short mission – half a day or so. We need to make a trip to D’Skor to assist Oni and Baz in locating and scoping out an underground vault of sorts. We aren’t entirely sure what we expect to find there, but it is likely a collection of Old Republic and Galactic Empire era technology.”

A brief silence was followed by some muttering at the table.

“Sure.” Iz said, smiling at the two. “I think most of us would be happy to help you out. Sounds like an easy deal.”

Cohren nodded to Sev, “Yeah, we’re both happy to help out. Wasn’t D’Skor just hit with a volcanic eruption? The place is probably coated in dried lava. Merik, you want to come along?”

He nodded. “Sure. I’m in.”

“Same here,” Pip added.

“If you’re friends with my father, I think it’s understood that I’m willing to come along.”

Baz and Oni looked at each other. Baz frowned a little. “Well, that was much easier than we were expecting.”

Oni shrugged. “We didn’t even have to mention pay…”

“Woah, wait wait… what was that?” Merik smirked.

 

**

 

Rooney was an adventurous little one – she was crawling on Baz as Pip and Cerys spoke to him. He didn’t mind at all. He’d always liked kids.

“So… how do you know my father?” Cerys asked. In many ways, she seemed very much like her father – inquisitive, analytical, and sharp. In many other ways, he was surprised she was raised by Hux. She came across as very kindhearted and a little chatty. She and Oni were getting along swimmingly.

“Oh, I was probably not much older than you when I met him.” Oni paused. “I think you may have been born before I met him?”

Hux nodded. “She would have been. I didn’t know about her until she was nearly a teenager.”

“Oh…” Oni nodded. “Well, I suppose you could say your father saved my life.”

Hux frowned at her. “That is _entirely_ incorrect. If anything, you saved mine.”

She nodded her head from side to side. “Well… yes. Maybe that is the wrong way to say it. The smuggler that I served at the time had stolen some items from the First Order. Armitage was sent to retrieve everything, and found me. It was very kind of him; he didn’t have to help me.”

“She conveniently forgets the part where she saved me and all my men _twice_.”

She waved a hand at him airily, “Such details are uninteresting, Armitage.”

“Hardly. My men and I were ambushed twice on the mission, and Oni… using these primitive ocular cybernetics they had given her… somehow managed to stave off all the attackers by manipulating their ship.” He shook his head, “I’d never seen anything like it before, and I haven’t seen anything like it sense.”

“It was not that impressive.”

Hux blinked at her. “You blew up their whole fucking ship while you were chained to a chair. If that’s not impressive I don’t know what is.”

She tried to hide a grin. “Well… yes, it may have been _slightly_ impressive.”

He shook his head, looking more annoyed with her modesty than anything else.

“I’m sorry…” Merik came over to them and pried Rooney off Baz. “She can be a monster sometimes.”

He laughed. “Don’t worry about it. She’s really friendly. You have a good kid.”

Merik smiled. “Thanks, I’m pretty lucky. Speaking of her, Hux – is there someone that can watch her tomorrow while we’re gone?”

Hux scratched his chin. “I think we might have a nanny droid on one of the ships…”

Cerys’ mouth dropped open. “ _No_." She sounded utterly aghast at the suggestion. "No. We can do much better than that, I’m sure there’s someone here that would love to watch her. I’ll talk to a few people later today.”

Hux looked confused. Baz was willing to bet he’d never dealt with a child. It was probably a good thing that he didn’t find his daughter until she was older.

The little one – Pip – had been eyeing him subtly for awhile. He was so used to people giving him odd looks that it had taken him awhile to notice. He just assumed she’d never seen a Chiss before.

“I never got to thank you for stopping that fight yesterday.” She finally said.

He frowned. “Yes, well they were being very rude to both you and your friends. From what I saw, you were walking away when they attacked you.”

She tried to look inconspicuous. “What was that little yellow thing?”

“Oh, that was Roz… he’s a ysalamir. He gets a little feisty around Force users, unfortunately when those two started fighting with it he felt the need to wedge himself into the fight. I had to leave him on our ship today out of fear he'd act up again.”

She nodded slowly. “Oh. That’s… interesting. A ysalamir… they’re not common, are they? Where did you get him from?”

He smiled at her. He’d maybe underestimated her a little – he could see what she was digging at. “He was a gift from our father, who is probably the person you’re thinking of.”

“OH.” Cerys looked at him. “That makes so much more sense…”

“Our?” Pip's mouth hung open for a moment. “Oh… I thought you two were… a couple.”

Oni laughed, “Baz, we need to get better with our introductions.”

“Genetics are strange in our family. We really don’t look anything alike, I don’t blame you for thinking that.”

Cerys looked at Oni. “Nobody knows you’re Thrawn’s daughter, do they? I mean… you’re kind of a prominent figure, and so was he. You’ve never made it public.”

“We tend to not discuss these things. People know. There are rumors. I’ve just never really publicly acknowledged it. I don’t speak of personal matters often. It keeps business cleaner.”

“I… well, I understand that, actually.” He could tell the girl was a little star-struck by his sister; among science-minded people she was nearly a celebrity. It must have been a pretty significant thing for her to be able to identify with Oni over something like the inability to discuss who their fathers were. He felt a little bad for her. Certainly, Hux’s actions were deplorable (he’d spent plenty of time arguing with his sister over this, she for some reason felt compelled to defend his actions). Cerys didn’t deserve to be punished for what her father had done, but no doubt she had suffered for it.

Oni’s smile faltered a little. “I’m sure you do.” She paused. “Your father was very kind to me years ago. It is all a rather long story, but when he found me I was enslaved as a tech controller for a somewhat powerful smuggler. Not only did he help remove me from that awful place, but he fought for the Order to give me upgraded cybernetic eyes – the ones they had given me when they removed my natural eyes were poorly fitted and didn’t have any vision capabilities. And he helped me find my family, who I had been taken from when I was not much older than this little one.” She motioned to Rooney. “So while he may not have saved my life in as much a literal way, he did give me my life back.” She glanced to Hux, blinking. “I have never once believed he was a bad man.”

Cerys smiled. “Oh? That’s a sweet thing for you to do, Armitage.”

“He was very sweet to me, then.” Oni smiled at Hux in a sort of teasing, dreamy manner.

“Oh. OH. Wait. Did you two…” Cerys hesitated, like it might be too good to be true. “Were you…”

Oni’s smile stiffened a little and she looked at Hux like she needed guidance. He really expected Hux to lock up like he used to in situations that required him to talk about his personal relationship with Oni, but he didn’t seem to mind. Though he didn’t really respond, he just gave a short nod.

Cerys’ mouth hung open for a second. “Did Brendol know?”

Oni tried to hide a grin. Hux looked just as irritated as ever at the mere mention of his father. “Yes. He knew.”

“Oh… that’s _fantastic_.” Cerys had a twisted grin on her face. “He knew that you aren’t fully human, didn’t he? I only met the man once, but he was very concerned to know how old I was. He asked my age before he even asked me my name. He must have been worried I might be yours.”

Hux looked completely repulsed. He never did have much tolerance for his father’s ignorance. Baz always felt a little bad for him. Brendol had been… unkind, to say the least. Clearly his relationship with the man hadn’t gotten any better since they last saw him.

Oni smiled widely, laughing, “Oh… Brendol… He really did not like me much.”

“What was it he called you the first time I met him?” Baz couldn’t help a little laugh. “A half-bred whore?”

Hux looked like he was in pain. Oni laughed.

“Oh… but… he called you _that?_ And he knew who your father was?” Cerys couldn’t seem to stop her jaw from falling open.

“Mm. Yes. I mean, my father wasn’t present when he said it. Brendol was not an unintelligent man; he would not have said that in front of him.”

Baz tried to imagine what Thrawn would have done if Brendol had said such a thing in front of him. He’d only seen his father mad once or twice, and it was sincerely terrifying. No doubt he would not have tolerated anyone being so rude to his daughter.

His sister smiled a little. “Armitage tells me you’re a talented engineer.”

“Er… I mean…”

Oni laughed. “Don’t be so modest, if you are your father’s daughter you must be quite talented. Are you familiar with the stealth ship my company is currently developing?”

“Yes.” She spoke a little too fast. “I mean… yes, I’m familiar with it. I’ve read a lot of good things, it sounds like it’s going to be pretty revolutionary…”

“I have the schematics for it with me. Would you like to look at them?”

 _This_ was why he adored his sister.

 

**

 

Oni was in Armitage’s office that evening. He wasn’t sure how she got in there, but he’d learned very quickly that she had a way of getting into any room she pleased. He didn’t question it.

She smiled at him. “I didn’t get a chance to thank you earlier today.”

He moved into the seat across from her. “You don’t need to; it’s the least I could do. And really, it’s not a problem. You haven’t asked much of us at all. If anything I owe you a thank you – I think you made Cerys’ year showing her the schematics for that ship your people are working on.”

“Ah, she is a very smart girl. If she were not your daughter I would have tried to recruit her.”

“Well, thank you for that.” He was pretty certain that had Oni made such an offer to Cerys, she would have taken it in a second. He actually wouldn’t have minded, either. It would be good for Cerys to operate more independently. He always sort of felt like she hung around just for him. Maybe after they finished helping Baz and Oni out he’d talk to her about it further.

“I have to admit, I’m pleasantly surprised to see you both again. It’s certainly unexpected, but I’m glad you were able to find me.”

“I am pleasantly surprised to see your daughter is with a Force user, like Ren.”

He nearly laughed. “Mm. Well, Iz is nothing like Ren. If she were with someone like him…” He shook his head, dismissing the terrifying thought. “Iz is a good man. He makes her happy. I couldn’t ask much more.”

“Hm. You are a good father, then. I never would have pictured you as a father, but it appears you have taken to it very well.”

“I don’t know about that, but thank you.” He paused, not sure if he was starting to tread onto rocky ground. “You never… had any?”

He immediately regretted asking – a fleeting shadow of sadness passed over her face. “I suppose I never told you, that was one of the things they took from me – my parents, my childhood, my eyes, and my ability to make a family.” She shook her head. “I underwent a regenerative procedure years ago to try and regain the ability, but it didn’t take. I suppose that means it was not meant to happen.”

He nodded slowly. “I’m sorry to hear that. I didn’t know.”

She waved it away. “Let us speak of happy things. You are doing well here, it seems? Your daughter has flourished despite the restrictions I’m sure she grew up under.”

“Yes. We’re both doing well. After the Starkiller… after faking my death… she and I spent several years living on a very isolated planet while things died down. It was good for both of us. Well, mostly it was good for me. It’s a selfish thing, she deserved to be somewhere she could have had more friends, but I think I sincerely needed to turn off from everything.”

She looked at him for a moment that seemed much longer than he was comfortable with, wearing an expression he couldn’t quite place. He started digging in his desk for the whiskey and glasses he kept stashed there, and spoke again quickly, trying to change the subject. “When did you decide to leave Nivo?” He tipped the bottle to her, “Do you want any?”

“Oh… Just a little? I was only on Nivo for about a year. It didn’t last long. I think…” She cracked a nervous smile. “I think I may have been too much for anyone to handle at the time. I do love Nivo, but it is _very_ small. I grew quite bored and left with my father to live on Csilla.”

“Really? I didn’t know that.” He slid a glass to her.

“Mm…” She hummed a little. “Yes, that didn’t last long either. The Chiss were not fond of my… er… unChiss-like ways. So I left and started my own thing.” She shrugged. “It worked out for the better.”

“It seems it did. You’ve certainly managed to impress Cerys.”

She laughed. He’d forgotten how expressive her eyes were, especially when she smiled. “Well, as I said, she is a smart girl. She knows good work when she sees it.”

He downed the glass a little faster than he intended and refilled it, like he could cover up the evidence. “Thank you, I am very proud of her. And for the record, it has been a pleasure watching what you’ve done with your business over the years. I’m sure both Nivo and the Chiss are wishing they could have you back now.”

“I don’t know about that. I think they both prefer to keep an arm’s length relationship with me.” She laughed a little and fell quiet for a moment, swirling the amber liquid in her glass. He couldn’t quite tell if she was looking at the drink or at him.

When she spoke, her voice was soft, quiet: “You told me you would come back.”

This was precisely where he had hoped the conversation wasn’t going. He sighed a little, looking away from her. “I don’t even know how I could begin to explain, Oni. I got so focused on work… the timing was just never right. And when I finally earned a rank high enough that I might have been able to pull strings make something work, things were heating up with the Resistance. I didn’t want to drag you into that mess. You were doing so well on your own. Look at what you’ve built. I would have been a fool to interfere with that…”

She was smiling at him. Her voice was perfectly calm, hinting at a joke when she responded. “I wasn’t accusing you of anything, Armitage. We were young. Very young. And I had a good deal of recovering to do – I think I still had to find out who I was. I was never really allowed to have my own identity before you helped me. That took some time to get used to. Honestly, it was a good thing you didn’t return. I could not admit it to myself for many years, but I was a mess. Any relationship you and I could have had then would have been incredibly unhealthy for both of us.”

It was a truth that would have killed him years ago, but she was absolutely right. He adored her so sincerely for so many years, even after she left. Maybe he just grew numb to the pain of missing her, but work progressively became more and more demanding until there was nothing left he could have given her. It was strange to look back on it now – his commitment to the Order grew like some massive, terrible storm cloud, consuming every bit of his life, every bit of his energy. There was nothing he could have given anyone until it all came crashing down with the destruction of the Starkiller.

“I think we both had a great deal to go through on our own.” He admitted.

“Mm. But I have always wondered why you never reached out to us for help. After things started happening with the Resistance… Why didn’t you come to us? Surely you know we would have helped you? Granted, we would not have lent aid to the Order, but we would have helped you.”

“Did your father ever tell you about our private discussion right before you went back to Nivo?”

“No, but I do know my father. Did he pressure you to let me return to Nivo?”

“Apparently you had some sort of mental break on his ship the night before. He showed me holo footage of it and asked me to help persuade you to return to Nivo. I don’t hold it against the man – especially not now that I have my own daughter. I would do the very same thing. Anyhow, I agreed and as a demonstration of his gratitude he told me he owed me a favor. I thought of that when everything started going to hell.”

“But you did not call in the favor? Armitage, you should have…”

“No, I couldn’t. I told him that at the time he made his offer, and it stopped me again, years later. I refused trade you for a favor.”

She looked across the desk at him with a small, quiet smile, her fingers running along the edge of her glass. She’d barely had two sips, and here he was already finishing off his second glass. This whole conversation was putting him on edge.

“Armitage, I remember once telling you that you were stronger than they knew. I am beginning to think you were stronger than I knew as well.”

He remembered her saying that, actually. The sentiment was appreciated, and made him nervous at the same time. He stood from his desk, “We’re leaving early tomorrow. You should try to get some sleep before we leave. I can walk you back to your ship…”

Her ship was a short walk from theirs; it was a model her company had produced. He was initially a little surprised to see it wasn’t as high-end as he’d expected. It was a little more practical, low key. A good size for three or four people to travel comfortably, meaning she and her brother had plenty of space.

She insisted he come inside for a quick tour. He tried to be quiet; Baz was asleep somewhere on the ship. She informed him the walls had extra soundproofing – apparently the Chiss half of her gave her exceptional hearing, so it was a necessity for any form of privacy.

He scratched his mouth. “We may need to discuss a potential alliance in the future. My organization could use a reliable producer for things like this. Would you be opposed?”

“Not at all. We don’t do much in the area of ship manufacturing yet, but we’ve been considering venturing into the field for some time.”

He nodded. “Let’s put that on the agenda before you and Baz leave, then.”

She tutted at him, a little smirk on her face. “Always so official, even after all these years.”

He looked at her for a moment. He needed to leave. He wasn’t sure why, but everything in him was telling him to leave. Now.

She bounced on her heels, just like she used to do when she got excited or nervous. “Armitage… I understand this sounds quite ridiculous, but I am very happy for you. This is never what I would have expected for you, having a family and being a father, but it suits you well.”

“It certainly wasn’t something I was expecting either. But, thank you.”

She reached up to him, brushing her fingers along his jaw line, weaving them into his facial hair. “This suits you well too.”

He froze, unsure how to react. He’d avoided this -- anything like this -- since Mila passed.

Oni had always been the most fascinating set of contradictions to him. When he first met her, she was a blind woman who seemed to see a great deal more than he could ever hope to. An obsessively logical person with a greater capacity for empathy than most people he’d ever met. A half-Chiss who always seemed more human than he’d ever felt.

And her finger tips – they were cool, nearly cold, as they reached around to the back of his neck, sending goosebumps up his spine – somehow made him melt.  Whatever tension was in his neck and shoulders relaxed just enough, and she popped up on her toes, brushing her lips against his.

“It may be somewhat foolish,” she whispered against his lips, “we have both become very different people. But I find myself still…” She kissed him again, then paused, her dark eyes looking up to his.

He didn’t know what to do.

 

 

He had made a huge mistake.

The sound of Oni stirring in the bed behind him made his blood run cold. He stood quickly, going to find his clothes. This was a terrible, terrible mistake. He’d avoided this for a good reason. The memory of Mila was too strong. The pain of losing her was too strong.

“You’re leaving?” She sounded confused. He couldn’t bring himself look at her.

Weak-willed. That was always one of Brendol’s favorite words to describe him. At times like this, he feared the man may have been right.

“Yes. I’m sorry.” He pulled his pants on as quickly as he could.

“Armitage… are you okay?” He heard her get up from the bed. She reached out for him, to put a hand on the side of his face. He jerked away, and immediately regretted the harsh reaction. She looked hurt. That wasn't what he wanted. Hurting her was exactly what he wanted to avoid.

He tried to find the right words. There weren’t any, really. “I’m sorry. Oni… I can’t… this isn’t…” He shook his head. He could barely take a full breath, much less form a full sentence. “We’re living in the past. This was unwise.”

Her mouth hung open for a moment. “Armitage… I never intended…” She stepped toward him and he backed away.

“Oni… I am happy to help you and your brother. But this was too much. I can’t…”

“I don’t understand what the problem is? This is…” she motioned to the mess of a bed that glared at him from across the room, “This is whatever you want to make of it. If you want it to mean nothing, it means nothing…”

No. No, that was a lie. This was wrong. It was betrayal. And it was dangerous. But he couldn’t explain that to her.

“I can’t do this to you.” It was all he could manage to say.

He pulled his shirt on and left, wondering what he needed to do to scrub the entire encounter from his memory.


	3. Chapter 3

The flight to D’Skor was coated in a thick layer of awkwardness that nobody other than Oni and Hux knew about. And Baz. He’d seen Hux leaving their ship suspiscously late the evening prior, and now Hux was going to great lengths to avoid even looking at his sister. Oni always accused Baz of being oblivious to these things, but it didn’t take great deductive abilities to figure out what happened between the two of them.

Cohren piloted the ship while Oni discussed the data her scans had gathered with the team. Then Hux took over to cover their strategy. She returned to Baz’s side at the very back of the room, leaning against the wall next to him with her arms crossed, a little frown on her face.

He spoke to her quietly, “I saw him leaving our ship late last night. Is that what this is about?”

She hummed, her frown twisting. “He is being strange…”

“He probably didn’t want to relive your past relationship, but felt like he was obligated to. You’re both very different now. You should try to be careful.”

“Hm.” She turned away from the group and smoothed the shoulder of his shirt – an affectionate gesture he’d only realized a few years ago she’d picked up from their father. “You are a good brother.” She left for the cockpit, to talk with Cohren about where they needed to land.

Hux’s voice drew him back to the conversation. “Pipista, Merik, I’m stationing you two on the ship. We need two people above ground.”

Pip didn’t appear happy with Hux’s decision. _“Really?”_

Merik laughed at her. “Aw, it’s okay. We can stay above ground and make sure the communication systems are running correctly.” He shrugged a little, “The way I see it, we’re getting paid to sit around and talk for a few hours while they do the bulk of the work.”

Hux nodded. “Thank you, Merik. We need both of you up here. It’s nothing personal, Pipista.”

 

**

 

It was _completely_ personal, and she knew it. She was the least physically useful due to her height, and unlike Cerys, didn’t have any real knowledge of Old Republic era technology they expected to find.

She watched out the viewport as Cohren landed the ship. The news reports all said the planet had been devistated, but she never could have imagined what it looked like. The entire surface they were landing on was caked with inky black dried lava, layered in terrible, beautiful lines over the land, as far as the eye could see. The sky was lit with a dim twilight – it was mid-day, but the lingering smoke from the devastation left the whole planet in perpetual hazy state of dusk. There were no signs whatsoever of life, just devastation. Looking at the bleak scene, she realized the few rescue crews remaining on the planet would prove useless. The chances of anyone surviving something this massive were next to nothing. Add to it that the planet had been experiencing massive aftershocks since the eruption… anyone who had survived and was able to take shelter was likely dead.

They exited the ship after a droid Oni brought, which set to work scanning the ground, looking for the exact location of the chamber. Hux started divvying them up into teams, “Cohren, take Oni with you. Iz, Cerys and Baz, you three split off into your own group as well. Sev…” He gave the man something that almost looked like a smile, “you’re coming with me.”

“Damnit… can’t I stay on the ship with Pip?”

“No. I don’t trust you to actually stay on the ship, nor do I trust you to behave yourself down there. You’re coming with me.” He turned his attention back to the whole group. “We’ll split off once we’re a little acclimated down there. Keep in communication, don’t leave your group. Have you all tested your comlinks?”

There was some muttering while people started to test the comlinks. In the distance, the droid came to a halt, beeping. It’d located the door, buried under lava. It began to drill, cracking through the crust.

“Pipista, please go to the cockpit and ensure that the ship is picking up everyone’s transmissions. You’re in charge of monitoring communication.”

She was almost completely certain he said that to try and make her feel better about being forced to stay on the ship. It didn’t work.

 

 

It took the droid nearly thirty minutes to crack through the layer of lava, and then another thirty minutes to get the heavy metal door below opened. The heat from the lava had melted a portion of the surface of the door – not enough to make the whole thing cave in, but just enough to seal the whole thing shut.

With the door heaved to the side, the crew started making their way down. She watched from the door of the ship, with Merik.

“I can’t believe they’re making me stay up here.”

He laughed at her. “You’re thinking about it too much. This is an easy mission, just relax and enjoy it.”

She huffed, crossing her arms. “You do realize what they’re doing? From what I gather, they’re cracking into a vault of Old Republic era heirlooms that belonged to _Grand Admiral Thrawn_.” She threw her arms up. “And here I am. Missing out on it because I have to stay on the ship.”

“I’m sure if they find anything good they’ll bring it up here.” He laughed at her again. “Why don’t you go back to the communications monitor? I’ll stand watch out here, in case someone needs to come back up here.”

 

**

 

The vault was much larger than Cohren expected. Unfortunately, it seemed to be mostly empty. The bulk of it appeared to be living quarters, like some sort of shelter that hadn’t been touched in ages. Oni mentioned her scans showed no signs of life, and after a half an hour of searching none of them had any evidence to prove otherwise.

The earthquakes striking the area had taken their toll on the structure. Cracks could be seen along the walls, and the few freestanding things they could find were overturned. He and Oni split from the group, wandering down a long hallway. A supply crate stuck out at a haphazard angle at the very end. He managed to pry it open – it was filled with books, written in a language he didn’t recognize.

“They’re written in Cheunh -- the Chiss language.” Oni explained, frowning as she thumbed through a few of them. There must have been well over a hundred of them packed into the crate.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what do you think this is? I think we all suspected it would be a storage facility for your father’s heirlooms. But this looks more like an underground shelter.”

“I am as surprised as you are.” She admitted. She looked down, frowning as she ran the toe of her boot along the edge of the crate. “It looks like there is something on the floor below the crate. Do you think you can move it?”

The edge of what appeared to be a design feature carved into the floor stuck out from under the crate. It was incredibly heavy to move, but he finally managed to push it away.

The marking revealed below was not a design. It was a door.

He clicked on his comlink, messaging though to all the others. “Hey, guys it looks like we found some sort of door in the floor at the very end of the hallway we took. It was covered by a crate – you guys should keep an eye on the floors as well, there might be more. We’re going to open it up and see what’s down there. We’ll keep you updated.”

Oni spoke into hers as well, as Cohren worked on heaving the door open. “My scans did not show any sign of a lower level. If you find anything, approach with caution.”

“Both of you stay safe,” Baz’s voice came through. “If you need any of us, let us know right away.”

“Cohren has the door open.” She confirmed peering over the edge into the darkness below. He turned on an illuminator; the room was nothing like the top level. It was packed with equipment, broken and upturned and strewn across the area. The floor between they and the lower level was nearly two feet thick – it made sense that none of her scans would pick anything up.

“It’s packed with broken equipment.” She confirmed to the group. “It appears there was some sort of power supply; some of it is sparking.”

A large, cylindrical piece of equipment had fallen right below the doorway, angled just right that they could scale it in order to reach the floor.

“We’re going down.” She let the team know.

He nodded to her. “Let me go first, to make sure it’s safe.”

He dropped down cautiously, making sure the wreckage was stable, and made his way to the floor. “It’s safe,” he called up to her, looking around. This place was sad, broken and deserted. The contents would likely have been valuable, but so much of it was smashed there was likely little value was left.

Oni made her way down next to him.

“It looks like… just broken equipment. Do you recognize anything? I don’t.”

“Mm.” She gave an inconclusive reply, frowning into the darkness.

He clicked his comlink to let the team know. Static crackled into his ear. He tried it a few more times. Nothing. “It looks like we’re out of range down here.”

“I suspect there is some sort of technology-masking barrier here. It would explain why my scans were unable to detect this level, and why the floor is so thick.”

He looked back up to the door they came through. They should go back up and let the others know they were out of range before they…

Something caught his eye. It was a dreadful, terrifying thing to see. He pointed up to the exit. “Oni… can you see those marks? Around the door?”

She stood next to him, looking up with a deep frown on her face. Around the edges of the door, there were scattered, shallow marks, almost like scratches, dug into the metal. They were definitely not the result of earthquake damage. They were made by a living being. Someone had been trying to escape.

She was already walking away from him – he shone the light after her. “Where are you going? We should let them know we’re out of range down here.”

She glanced back to him with a small smile. “It will be okay, I just need to look for a moment.”

He watched her disappear into another room. He didn’t like this, at all. They weren’t even sure how deep this level ran. It was likely just as expansive as the upper area.

He waited impatiently for a moment, then called after her. “Oni… we need to at least let them know we can’t com…” He was suddenly lying on the floor, looking up at the ceiling, barely able to take a breathe. He’d been knocked over, hard. His head ached terribly.

A figure stepped over him, barely glancing down to him. It paused for just a moment, and in the minimal light streaming from the doorway he could see a pair of glowing, red eyes.

The figure turned away quickly and hurried to the exit, clambering up the equipment. It took everything in him to push upright – his body and his mind couldn’t quite cooperate. “Oni!” He called back to her, but there was no answer. He glanced back to the exit just in time to see the man’s legs disappear to the upper level. Cohren forced himself to his feet unsteadily, going after him.

He shouted after the man as he started to scale the equipment, and nearly fell off when the man suddenly returned. He stopped just short of Cohren, looking like he’d been trapped, and leapt from the side of the structure to the floor below.

Sev suddenly came barreling after the man, but froze when he saw Cohren, frowning deeply. He leapt off the side as well, catching the Chiss in a force-hold before he could make his way any deeper into the structure. Hux came down the structure next, followed shortly by Cerys. He looked at Cohren with concern.

Cohren touched his forehead. He was bleeding. He must have taken a pretty nasty blow to the head.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah… yeah… I just… He caught me off guard…”

He looked around into the darkness, shining a light to Sev, who was Force dragging the struggling Chiss toward him with a measured slowness.

“Where’s Oni?” Hux suddenly sounded very concerned.

Cohren pointed to the back room, “She wandered back there, I haven’t had a chance to check on her…”

Hux was already heading for the room before Cohren could finish his sentence.

The Chiss was at Sev’s feet now. Interestingly, he’d stopped fighting and just lay on the floor, glaring up at Sev in a way that might have burned holes into him. Sev put a foot on his chest, leering down at him, “Yeah, you fucked up, buddy. Big time.”

Cerys stood next to Cohren, but was distracted by the equipment in the room. She had an odd expression her face, a small frown on her lips.

“You see that guy?” Sev pointed violently at Cohren. “The tall fucker? You…” he dug his boot into the man’s chest, “DO NOT do that to him. Got it?”

“Sev, there’s no need to…”

“I know what this is.” Cerys said, breathless. She stepped off the equipment and onto the floor, wandering into the devices below. She went into the other room, where her father was. They followed after her. Sev dragged the Chiss along the floor with them. He attempted to cooperate, but Sev tripped him a few times until he gave up and let himself be dragged.

“Sev… you should really stop that. We can just cuff him.”

“No. It’s better this way.” He was still frowning. Cohren was a little flattered. Sev may have a strange way of showing it, but he cared a terrible amount.

Oni was lying on the floor, with Hux kneeling next to her, checking her pulse. “She’s alright, just unconscious.”

Cerys was looking at a giant tube in the center of the room, which ran from floor to ceiling. The front portion of the tube was once glass, which was now strewn across the floor. Some odd looking apparatus hung from the top of the tube. “I think…” She ran her fingers over her mouth. “I think this is cloning equipment.”

They all looked at the Chiss, who looked like he would love nothing more than to get away from them but had no idea how to go about doing it.

“Sev. You should really quit stepping on him.” Cerys said.

Sev didn’t move his foot from the man’s chest, motioning down to him. “Wait. So is this guy their _dad?_ That’s pretty messed up. He looks like he’s barely 20 years old.”

Hux frowned. “This does not leave this room.” He looked directly at Sev. “Is that understood? And take your foot off him, Sev. If that is a clone of their father, you really don’t want to be on his bad side. Trust me; I’ve seen the man mess up a Force user before."

“He’s probably terrified.” Cerys looked down at the angry Chiss with pity.

“ _Terrified?_ Do you see what he did to Cohren?”

Hux and Cerys both just glared at him.

Cohren put a hand on his shoulder, pulling him back a little. “Really, Sev, he probably is. There were marks around the door like he’s been trying to get out. He’s probably been trapped down here for awhile.”

He frowned for a moment, and then stepped back, releasing his hold and grumbling. The Chiss didn’t react right away – he stayed on the ground, looking up at them all like he was trying to figure out if it was a trap. Slowly, cautiously, he sat upright. Hux remained crouched next to Oni, but nodded to the Chiss. “What’s your name?”

The Chiss looked back at him evenly, not saying a word. Hux frowned. “I don’t think he knows Basic.” He motioned to himself. “My name is Hux. What is your name?”

His expression gave nothing away, but he watched Hux closely.

Cerys walked around the broken tube, looking utterly fascinated. “What was his full name? Maybe if he understands we know who his is…”

Hux frowned, “Chiss names are very odd. I don’t know that I can pronounce it correctly. It was something like… Mithrawndu? Mithrawnuduru?”

“No, no it was something more like… Mitthrawnurudo?”

The Chiss looked between the two of them with a deep crease in his brow, a frown on his face. “Mitth’raw’nuruodo?”

Cerys looks delighted that he offered help, “Yes! Yes! Thrawn! Is that you?”

He didn’t respond, instead starting to slowly back away from them.

“Are you guys down here?” Iz called from the other room.

The Chiss’s attention snapped to the new voice. He was starting to realize there was no escape.

“We’re okay!” Cerys called back. “Is Baz with you? We need both of you in here.”

They two entered the room and Baz started for his sister, slowing a little when he saw the Chiss.

“She’s okay.” Hux said.  “I think he may have knocked her out when he was trying to escape.”

Baz nodded and turned to the other Chiss, who watched him closely.

Iz went to Oni’s side, kneeling next to her and closing his eyes, placing his hand on her forehead. It only took a few moments – she gasped and her eyes fluttered open.

 

**

 

Baz heard his sister gasp as she came to. His attention was really focused on the younger Chiss half-seated on the floor in front of him. Baz approached cautiously; he was watching closely, suspiciously.

“ _Hello_.”

The Chiss was silent for a moment, not even blinking at him. Baz had grown used to this sort of response over the years – it was a very Chiss thing. “ _You speak my language. Good. Who are you? And who are… what are… all these people? I don’t recognize their species or their language._ ”

“ _My name is Baz. We’re here to help you._ ”

“ _You’re not answering my questions. What are they? You speak with an odd accent – Cheunh is not your native tongue is it? Where are you from?_ ”

He was obviously distressed, pouring out questions as fast as they came to mind. “ _They are humans. Their language is called Basic. You don’t know it?_ ”

“ _No. Quit answering half my questions._ ”

“ _I’m from a planet called Nivo. Basic was my first language, and Cheunh was my second._ ”

A hint of a frown flashed across his face, “ _Nivo? I have not heard of such a planet. Is this a settlement I do not know of? Or were you not raised with our people? What sort of a Chiss are you?_ ”

Baz sighed a little, “ _A very odd one, you’ll find._ ”

“Baz.” Oni spoke to him in Basic. “This is not him. That is not our father’s voice.”

Oni would know; she’d spent many years of her life with no sight whatsoever. Voices were of great importance to her. “ _What is your name?_ ” He asked the Chiss.

The Chiss looked at him narrowly. “ _What business is that of yours?_ ”

“ _I was kind enough to give you my name. You won’t give me yours?_ ”

“ _I do not know who you are. I have no idea if I can trust you. I will not give you my name. For all I know you may be the ones who trapped me here._ ” He motioned to Sev. _“That one certainly has not convinced me that you all mean well.”_

“ _How long have you been down here?_ ” Oni joined them. Her Cheunh had always been vastly superior to his.

The Chiss staggered back a little, looking shocked. He looked at Baz. “ _This human… knows our language?_ ”

Oni nodded, an eyebrow raised. This was utterly bazaar. If this is some sort of “altered” clone of their father, his memory was clearly not complete. He had no idea who either of them was, and had no idea how to speak Basic.

The Chiss motioned to the others, “ _None_ _of the others can speak it. How does this human know our language? She speaks it better than you do. There are none of this species on my homeworld. Where did she learn it?_ ”

He caught a smile twitching on his sister’s lips. She enjoyed these assumptions. The first time he went to Csilla with her she’d spent the day smarting off to people in the language – an act that typical Chiss were utterly floored (and morbidly offended) by. “ _Yes, none of the others can speak Cheunh. Humans don’t have the vocal capabilities to articulate correctly._ ”

“ _You seem to speak it just fine. Do you have some sort of… vocal apparatus?_ ”

“ _No_.” She said simply. “ _I am half Chiss. Baz is my brother._ ”

He gave her a disbelieving look. “ _Really? You must be half siblings?_ ”

“ _No. Human mother, Chiss father._ ” Baz sometimes tired of explaining this.

He was quiet for a moment. “ _I do not know what sort of Chiss would involve himself with an outsider…_ ”

Oni looked at Baz, wrinkling her nose and speaking in Basic, “Oh… he’s a little shit isn’t he?”

“Our father did mention to me once that he was very leery of humans when he first met them. His memory must be incomplete before that point.”

“Excuse me…” Cerys butted into the conversation politely, “I do think we would all appreciate knowing what exactly is going on.”  She motioned to the shattered tube behind her, “I know a few things about old tech… This is a cloning facility, isn’t it?” She pointed to the Chiss, “Is he a clone of your father?”

“I… Yes, I do believe this may be a clone of our father.” Baz had trouble admitting it aloud. He was sorry to have hidden it from them, but even sorrier that it was a possibility they had to consider. His relationship with Thrawn had always been… rocky. He hadn’t grown up with him, or with any Chiss around, so getting used to his father’s idiosyncrasies was a challenge, to say the least. But this was something else. It was one thing that the man had weird hand gestures. It was a whole other level that he would decide to clone himself to carry on his family line.

He and Oni had spent days debating what it could mean. Was it that they weren’t pure Chiss? That didn’t seem likely, Thrawn had never been the sort of person to care about that. Was it that neither of them were quite what he had hoped of his children? Possibly. Was it that neither of them could give him genetic offspring?

That was a horrifying, crushing reality to consider, and the most likely option they had come up with.

Next to him, Oni shook her head. “No. This is not him. You are not listening to me. I recognized the man’s voice before I saw him, after nearly 15 years of not hearing him. I know his voice. This is not our father.”

Baz shrugged, “Don’t you think it’s possible that a clone’s voice could sound slightly different? He’s never used his vocal cords before, maybe he just sounds different.”

“He won’t give you his name?” Cerys asked.

“No, he refuses to. But then… That does seem like something our father might do.”

“We tried to ask him earlier if he was Mitthrawnuduoro.”

The Chiss looked irritated. “ _Would you please tell the red one to stop trying to pronounce that name if she can’t do it correctly?_ ”

Baz hid a laugh, nodding to Cerys, “Yeah, you’re slaughtering the pronunciation of his name. He’s not particularly fond of that.”

“Oh… well please let him know I’m sorry. Should we just call him Thrawn?”

The Chiss glared at her sharply. “ _What is wrong with their species? Have they no manners? Using an informal name without permission, when they can’t even pronounce the proper name…_ ”

Baz couldn’t hide his laugh this time. “ _You need to forgive her. As we said, humans can’t properly articulate most Cheunh words. Including names._ ”

“He’s very… snippy isn’t he?” Cerys frowned a little.

Oni nodded. “Yes well… the name thing is going to be a little difficult.”

The Chiss eyed Baz. “ _You look very much like someone I know.”_

 _“Oh? Who is it you think I look like?”_ This might be a path to a clue.

He looked away from them, toward the exit in the ceiling. _“You somewhat resemble my brother. I am certain he is looking for me. I need to return to him.”_

Baz sighed, looking at Oni with a frown. She seemed sad as well. “Oni, in one of the first private conversations I ever had with him he told me I reminded him of his brother.”

Oni’s rubbed her mouth, her dark eyes wide. “Oh… I think I know what’s going on.” She switched to his language. “ _Is your brother Mitth’raw’nuduoro?_ ”

The Chiss blinked, looking away from them, “ _I see no reason to give you my name or my brother’s name. As I said, I have no idea who you people are. You may be the ones who put me down here._ ”

_“You are Mitth’ras’safis aren’t you?”_

He made no reaction.

Oni looked at Baz, “It would make much more sense, wouldn’t it?”

He thought back, remembering to the few times his father had spoken to him of Thrass. He always seemed terribly remorseful over the memories.

He nodded, “It would. It would make a terrible amount of sense, actually.” He switched to Cheunh, “ _You are him, aren’t you? Oni and I… we have much we need to explain to you. I don’t even know where to begin._ ”

“ _What do you remember from before you woke?_ ” Oni asks.

“ _You both ask too many questions._ ”

“ _We’re trying to help you_ ,” Baz offered. “ _It would be much easier if you’d allow us to._ ”

“ _How do I know I can trust you? I do not know who you are._ ”

It felt like they were spinning in circles with how stubborn he was being. “ _Listen… we came to get you out of here. Do you not want to leave this place?_ ”

“ _Of course I do._ ” He frowned a little. “ _I was just planning on doing it on my own terms, rather than with a group of people I don’t know that I can trust._ ”

“ _So… If you refuse to come with us… what are you going to do?_ ”

“ _Leave on my own._ ” He said it flatly, like it was the most obvious thing.

“ _And where are you going to go?_ ”

“ _Back to my home world._ ”

“ _How are you going to get there?_ ”

“ _Obviously I’m going to need a ship._ ”

“ _We have a ship._ ”

“ _I_ _assumed that much. But you have no plans to use it to take me to my home world, do you?"_

Oni looked to Baz. _“We could. If that’s what you wanted, absolutely."_

He seemed mildly interested. Oni tilted her head to the side, “ _Is there any food down here?"_

He didn’t reply.

Baz frowned a little. “ _Oh… You have been down here all this time with no food…_ ”

“ _Come to the ship with us, we have plenty of food._ ”

He blinked a few times. _“That is… kind of you.”_

_“Will you come with us?”_

He shuffled a little. _“Yes. We can discuss my return to my home world on your ship._ ”

Oni smiled widely, switching to Basic. “He’s agreed to come aboard the ship.”

“That took long enough.” Sev said shortly.

They made their way to the top level, the Chiss following after him. Iz tried to use his comlink to reach his sister, to let her know they were all okay, but the line was dead. He pressed the button a few times.

“Hux, you need better comlinks. These ones have a delay in recovering service. I will send you better ones, from my company…”

“That isn’t necessary, Oni.”

“Yes it is.” She cut him off sharply. He didn’t retort.

They reached the area with the area where the exit was. The door was closed. The Chiss, he noticed, was looking down the far hallway, his eyes narrow.

“None of you clos…” Hux held a hand up, cutting Cohren short.

The metallic silence creaked around them. Baz could hear faint noises, footsteps, down the far hallway. More than one person.

They were not alone.


	4. Chapter 4

Before Baz could open his mouth to say anything, the Chiss took off down a hallway toward the lower level. “ _Tell them to hide. Someone is here. I do not know if they are allies._ ”

Hux looked at him, frowning, “We have visitors?”

“Yes… Multiple.”

He appreciated Hux’s remarkably strategic mind. He spoke quickly, quietly. “Split off into groups, find a place to hide. Cohren, you have a blaster, correct? Go with Oni. Baz, stick with the Chiss and take Iz with you for protection. Cerys,” He nodded to his daughter, “you are staying with me.” He glared at Sev, “And you are coming with us.”

Baz got the impression Hux wasn’t entirely fond of Sev, which made complete sense. In some ways, Sev reminded him of Ren, only even less refined. Hux most likely didn’t trust the man to have good judgment.

“Oni,” He nodded to her, “Do what you can… try to find a way to check on Pip and Merik. If you can contact them, see if they can help us.”

They split off in different directions, with Iz and Baz going after the Chiss. They found him in a small room on the lower level. It appeared to be a storage closet. He was digging through a pile of makeshift staff-like weapons. He looked over his shoulder, frowning at them. _“What are you doing here? Go! Hide!”_

Baz pointed to Iz. _“Trust me; we’re completely safe with this one around."_

He looked at Iz. _“Him? He’s small."_

While clearly physically fit, Iz did stand about shoulder-height to both the Chiss. Now wasn’t the most opportune time to explain the Force. “ _Just… trust me. The others have split off and are hiding. My sister is trying to communicate with the ones on the outside, on our ship._ ”

He expression did not indicate trust, but turned back to his pile. “ _I was making these to try and pry the door open… Take that._ ” He tossed one to Baz.

Baz held it awkwardly. “Er…”

“You can’t be picky; I don’t have much here…”

“Baz,” Iz looked at him with an eyebrow raised. “Does he intend for you to defend yourself with that?”

“Ah… yeah. I guess.”

Iz nodded to the Chiss. “He’s hurt. Look at how he carries his arm; he can't use it. I doubt he could actually defend himself well.”

He frowned a little. He hadn’t noticed earlier, but now that Iz mentioned it he was carrying his arm in a slightly odd position. Baz hadn’t seen him use it at all. “I suppose our best course of action is to get to that door and guard it, in case my sister gets Pip or Merik to open it.”

“Leaving us out in the open?”

“We’re probably most well-armed of any of the groups.”

Iz shook his head, checking the hallway in both directions before stepping back out, “No. Cerys’ group probably is. Don’t underestimate any of them. There’s a reason Hux took her with him. He knows she’s safest next to him.”

He and the Chiss followed after Iz, down the hallway. The Chiss, he noticed, carried a pike in one hand and let the other dangle limply at his side. Iz was right, he was hurt. He was just very good at hiding it.

 

**

 

They made their way into a large room, and Hux silently motioned for his daughter and Sev to find a hiding place, wedging himself behind a pillar near the door, situated so he could view the entry way to the room. He kept his blaster drawn, ready to go.

They had a few things working to their advantage. The vault was remarkably large, giving them plenty of space to hide. And Oni was a fast worker, an expert in these sorts of situations. He’d seen her pull off much bigger miracles than this, in much less time. He had complete faith that she would find a way to reach Pip and Merik soon.

Cerys crouched behind a supply box, while Sev took his position behind the pillar on the opposite side of the door.

A deathly silence followed, dragging on for some time, until he could just barely hear footsteps coming down the hallway. He remained focused, trying to determine how close the individual was. For a moment, he was distracted by Sev’s expression. The cocky bastard looked worried. He tried to remember if he’d ever seen him  worried before.

A woman walked past their door – she was tall, with blonde hair drawn back neatly and a lightsaber at her hip. She paused before the door and glanced in, then continued down the hallway.

Sev suddenly, very boldly, _very_ stupidly, strode out into the hallway. He brushed his hair back from his face, “Hey there…”

He wanted so badly to let out a disgusted sigh. Of course Sev would feel the need to flirt in a situation like this. Poor Cohren, he really did deserve better.

The woman’s voice was sharp in response, “Who are you?”

Sev, in another unnecessarily bold move, stepped close to her. “If I tell you my name will you tell me yours?”

She looked up at him, a little smirk on her face. “You must be some special sort of fool. I know you and the rest of your crew beat us to him… But we have you trapped here. Why don’t you just tell me where he is?”

“Uh… Who?”

Her smile was tight. “Listen, if you know what’s good for you you’ll tell me where he is right now.”

“Are you threatening me?” He paused. “If so that’s kind of hot.”

Her fake smile quickly disappeared into a deep frown, and she brought a hand up, the same way he’d seen Iz and Sev do so many times. This woman must be able to use the Force. It would actually give some logical reasoning behind Sev’s actions -- he went out there to draw her away from them.

“Oh, what? Are you going to Force choke me?” He lowered his voice. “I’m kind of into that.”

“You’re a moron.” She waved her hand, but Sev dodged, drawing his lightsaber. He didn’t have a lightsaber when the kids first brought him home with them. Hux wasn’t entirely sure where it came from, and he didn’t really care to ask. Sev moved away from the doorway, out of their view.

“You know, I like a woman with some teeth.”

She went after him.

It was an oddly kind move on Sev’s behalf. Hux might actually have to thank him later. In all the time he’d known the twit, he’d never done anything worth thanking him for.

The fight in the hallway grew more viscous sounding, peppered with Sev occasionally cursing. He could hear it moving away from them, further down the hallway. Hux silently motioned to Cerys – she made her way up toward him. He kept close to the door, peering out to the hallway cautiously.

She said very quietly, “Can you see?”

He shook his head, “They’re too far down the hallway. I’ll only be able to see the after we step out.” He looked at her, his stomach lurching. How had he gotten her into this mess? He needed to get her out of here, away from the situation. “When we go out there, go down the hallway away from them. Quickly, quietly. Do not hesitate. I’ll be right behind you. Find a room with a door; we’ll barricade ourselves in.”

She nodded.

Just before they stepped out, the woman fighting with Sev spoke: “You’re a pain in the ass, you know?”

“Pheh.” Sev’s voice, though clearly strained, conveyed just as much snark and carelessness as ever.

“I was going to pry the location out of you, but I’d rather just not deal with you anymore. I’ll find your friends and make one of them tell me.”

There was a crackling, electric noise, followed by a sickly thwack.

It was an awful noise. He took it as his queue, stepping out into the hall, his blaster drawn and aimed down the hallway, toward the fight. He managed to fire off a few blasts at the woman before she turned her attention to them. “Cerys, move! Now!”

Sev was sprawled on the floor, the woman standing over him with his face clutched in her hand, which was crackling with some sort of purple electricity. Blood was starting to pool around his head – the devastating smack he heard earlier was Sev’s head, getting smashed into the floor. The woman turned her attention to them. Smoke streamed from a blaster hole in the wall just inches from her head. Hux had missed by only a few inches.

He fired again – a shot hit her left shoulder, and another clipped her side. She fell onto her knees, swaying forward and dropping Sev’s face.

Cerys hurried away from them. He stayed to finish this business. The irony was not lost on him: he needed to stay to help Sev, of all people.

 

**

 

Cohren and Oni moved into a room just barely down the hallway from the exit. They needed to be close to the door in the event they got the two on the outside to open it.

“If you can guard the door I can get a hold of them. It will take some time, but I can do it.”

He took position near the door while she tucked herself into a hidden position toward the back of the room. “How long are we talking?”

“Twenty minutes at most.”

“I think I can manage that.”

Everything fell silent again, and he found himself relying on his hearing more than anything. After some time, he heard footsteps. Hushed voices. Very cautiously, he peered down the hallway. It was Iz, Baz, and the Chiss, standing guard at the door. The three together looked positively intimidating – particularly the two towering, athletically-built Chiss, which was somewhat ironic considering Iz was easily the most dangerous of them. Cohren found himself wondering if Baz actually had any clue how to fight with a staff. The man didn’t strike him as a fighter.

Iz stood in the front, his lightsaber clutched in his hand, ready to go. Cohren had never actually seen him in action (other than the bar fights Sev occasionally drug him into, which were never near as serious as this), but he assumed that if Iz spent time training with Kylo Ren he was likely a force to be reckoned with.

He kept his position, patiently waiting for news of any progress from Oni. Time drug on.

A familiar noise came from down the hallway. A lightsaber igniting. He peered out – Iz stood in a defensive position, the blue blade of his weapon glowing. A blaster shot rang out; he shifted quickly, deflecting it. More shots came.

“Oni!” He hissed back to her as kindly as he could, “I’m not trying to rush you, but we have a situation…”

Oni huffed from her hiding spot. “I need time.”

“Well, I don’t know that you have much. Iz and your brother are guarding the doorway, they’re getting attacked.”

She growled something he didn’t understand. “Five minutes.”

“Whatever you’re doing, they need it done _now_.”

She fell silent. Cohren watched the commotion down the hallway as well as he could. Iz was deflecting the shots amazingly well, keeping all three of them safe. The fire stopped and Iz charged ahead to take care of the attackers. Baz looked up at the exit, and then said something to the other Chiss. He nodded and stepped forward, to help Iz. Baz dropped his weapon and leapt up, catching the ledge of the exit and pulling himself up, so that he was braced against the door, and started to kick, trying to force it open.

So Baz _couldn’t_ fight, but this hanging-from-the-ceiling while trying to force a heavy metal door open was actually a pretty impressive display of athleticism.

“Oni, they need help. I have to go out there…”

“No! No just… two minutes…”

“Two minutes is going to be too long!” He started to step out, blaster drawn, when Oni stood from her hiding spot.

“Tell them to get away from the door. Now!”

He looked at her for a quick moment, and then hurried down the hallway to them, shouting. “Baz! Iz! Get away from the door!” He reached them just in time to see the Chiss land a harsh blow across the temple of one of the attackers, who slumped to the ground. Baz, hanging from the doorway on the ceiling, looked at him.

“Oni says to get away from the door!”

He dropped quickly and grabbed the collar of the other Chiss, pulling him down a side hall. He and Iz ducked into a room just in time – the hallway, littered with the unconscious bodies of 10 or 12 attackers Iz and the Chiss managed to take out – suddenly filled with debris from a massive blast. His ears were left ringing.

When the debris started to settle, they stepped out into the hallway. Baz and the Chiss made their way out slowly, the Chiss dusting debris from his black outfit. Oni strode down the hallway quickly, making her way directly to Baz, chattering at him in another language. She fussed with the dust on his shoulder for a moment, then threw her arms around him in a tight embrace. The Chiss watched them both closely, skeptically.

“Is everyone okay?” Iz asked.

“Yes, yes, I believe we are all okay.” Oni said, looking up to the crater opening to the surface. “I am sorry to have taken so long. I had to override the droid’s mechanics to get it to set off the ship’s blaster.”

Cohren stomach knotted at her statement. Why hadn’t she been able to contact the two on the surface? Iz’s expression echoed Cohren’s. Where were Merik and Pip?

Before he could open his mouth to ask, Cerys came running down the hallway. “Iz! Iz we need your help! Hurry!”

They both turned to her and she froze. She looked frazzled, desperate for help.

“What’s wrong?” Iz frowned.

She grabbed his arm, “We need you, _now_. Sev is…” She glanced to Cohren. “You should come along as well.”

“We can handle this, you three go.” Baz was climbing to the surface. “Be careful.”

Cerys nodded to them. “Get out of here, leave the door open. We’ll be out soon.”

 

 

Cohren knew the situation was serious when he saw Cerys’ face, but when they found Armitage kneeling next to Sev, checking for a pulse, he still couldn’t help but feel like he was slipping into a state of shock. He’d seen his fair share of injuries before, but for some reason seeing Sev in such a condition… it was different. Maybe it was the blood pooling around him. There was so much of it. He couldn’t look away. He couldn’t take another step.

Hux nodded to them, “He’s alive.”

Iz went Sev’s side, dropping to his knees and beginning to inspect the injury. “What happened?”

Cerys hesitated. “This woman… she was a Force user, he must have sensed it.”

“He tried to draw her away from us.” Hux frowned. “He managed to, quite effectively, but she must have been stronger than he was expecting.”

Iz closed his eyes like he always did when trying to heal someone. “What the hell did she do to him?”

Cerys shook her head, blinking quickly. “I don’t know, I saw… sparks coming from her fingers…”

Iz’s frown deepened, but he didn’t say anything.

“I managed to land a few shots on the woman, but she took off…” He looked down the hallway. “She can’t have gone far, I’ll go find her while…”

“No.” Iz said shortly. “No. We need to get Sev back to the man ship. Now.”

Cohren’s stomach sank. Iz was usually so calm. His tone had changed entirely. This was very serious.

“I need you three to help me get him to the ship. We need to move fast…” He looked up to Cohren and his face softened. “Hey… Cohren, he’s going to be okay. I promise.”

His head spun. He knelt down next to Sev. “Yes, yes of course. This is Sev we’re talking about. He’s far too stubborn for that.”

“And I won’t let anything happen to him.” Iz said simply. He’d insisted ever since they first met Sev that they were like brothers. Iz had lost enough brothers for a lifetime – three biological ones, at a very young age. He wouldn’t lose another. Cohren knew he could trust Iz with Sev’s life.

“What do I need to do?”

“Help me get him to the ship, and fly that thing back to our main ship faster than you’ve ever done before.”

He nodded. He could do that.

 

**

 

Baz made it to the surface just in time to see a dark ship taking off in the distance. Oni paused next to him to watch it as well.

“I will track them.” She said, very simply. It wasn’t as though she’d been able to plant a tracker on them or anything like that. She was simply stating it as a fact: She _would_ track them down.

He’d learned over the years that while he looked like their father, Oni thought like him. This was one of the traits he deeply respected in both of them. When they said they would do something, they were absolutely dedicated to achieving it.

Baz offered the Chiss his hand to help pull him to the surface. He refused, pulling himself up with his good arm. When they first met him, Baz noticed the man was a good deal paler than either he or his father. He assumed it was because the man had spent his entire life thus far in a tube, underground. But now that he stood on the surface, in the hazy, smoky sunlight, he looked slightly darker, more similar to Baz’s skin tone.

They made their way onto the ship, but paused at the boarding ramp. A smeared trail of blood lead off the side of the ramp. Someone had been dragged off the ship. Baz hoped it was one of the attackers, but the silence in the ship indicated otherwise. They called out for the others, but got no response. He went to the cockpit. It was empty. He stood in the silence, scanning out the area for any sign of the others.

There was a sharp thwack next to his head. It came from small storage compartment stood about eyelevel to him. He pressed the button to open it and Pip practically poured out, jumping to the floor, her eyes huge. “What… where…” She looked around wildly. “What happened? Where is Iz?”

“Iz is fine, he’s helping Sev…”

“Sev? What happened to Sev? Is he okay? Where are they?”

“I don’t know. We were attacked down there. Cerys was distraught; I don’t think its good…”

Pip pushed past him for the exit, “No, no…” She didn’t even seem to notice the newcomer on their ship – she went straight for the exit. She froze at the ramp, looking down at the blood.

Outside, the others were bringing Sev up to the surface. It was bad – Iz had to jump to the surface and use the Force to pull Sev up. Cohren came to the surface and took him, starting for the ship with long strides. When he reached the ramp, he stopped, looking at the blood. He looked at the four of them.

“Where’s my brother?”

Iz rubbed his forehead. He put a hand on Cohren’s arm and pulled him a little, starting up the ramp. “Cohren, we need to get Sev back. Now.”

“But…”

Iz gave him a pleading look. Hux put a hand on his shoulder, “Cohren. Focus on the task at hand. Sev needs to get to our med team right away. We can find Merik, but this…” he glanced to the unconscious man in Cohren’s arms. “This needs to happen _now_ if you want to save him.”

Baz wasn’t sure how he would have responded in such a situation. Desert your kidnapped brother to save the life of your lover? The thought made him nearly nauseous. But Cohren reacted remarkably well. He nodded. “Yes. Yes, you’re right. Sev needs help. We’ll come back for Merik.”


	5. Chapter 5

Hux went to the cockpit with Cohren, closing the door between them and the mess in the hull. They needed him focused on flying. Luckily the man had the ability to hyperfocus like his mother did – he set to work on the controls, firing the ship up.

Hux reached out to the main ship. Sev was lucky – this planet was less than an hour’s flight away from where their main ship was at the moment. Cohren would be able to shave some time off the commute; hopefully Iz could help Sev hold through until then.

A dispatcher spoke: “Sir, we weren’t expecting to hear from you.”

“I wasn’t expecting to reach out. We’re returning to the ship, we have an injured team member. Sev… En.” The stupidest name he’d ever had to say... “He’ll need immediate emergency attention. I want best medical professionals on our team available for him as soon as we land. He’s suffered a head injury. We have Itzuazua Uru with us. He’s doing what he can for Sev until we land. When we get closer, I want the lead doctor patched through to him so he can give a comprehensive assessment of Sev’s condition.” He paused. “Arim. I want Sebbie Arim as the lead doctor on this case. Tell him I’m asking a personal favor. Patch him through to me as soon as you’re able to get a hold of him.” Arim was the best doctor the Guard had, and happened to be one of Hux’s oldest friends. He knew he could trust him with the case.

“On it, sir. We’re tracking your ship right now. Given your speed we expect your arrival in 47 minutes. We will have a full emergency medical team ready. I’ll reach back out to you as soon as Arim is available.”

Hux nodded. “I want to hear from Arim in less than 15 minutes. Is that clear?”

“Understood, sir. We’ll speak soon.”

The line went dead. Hux glanced at Cohren and wondered if he’d overheard any of what was said, or if he was entirely focused on piloting the ship.

Hux settled into the copilot’s seat and waited. He needed to stay here, to keep an eye on Cohren. This was a delicate situation; they needed him piloting the ship, but he was no doubt under a massive amount of stress, especially with his brother missing.

The dispatcher followed through – Sebbie was patched through to them shortly. His voice was tired; the holo projection of him rubbed his eyes. “Hey, Hux. Sorry, I just got off a shift, I was asleep. You need help?”

“We do. You’ve been acquainted with Sev, correct?”

“The spastic kid with the tattoos on his neck? Yeah, I’ve met him a few times.”

“He was assisting on a personal assignment, he’s been injured. It doesn’t look good, a pretty severe head injury. Uru is taking care of him now. I know you just got off shift, but I’d appreciate it if you could take his case. He was injured protecting Cerys and me.”

Sebbie nodded. “Of course, of course. How soon will you be back?”

“Estimated 35 minutes.”

“I’ll be there when you land.”

“I only want the best of the med team on this case, understood?”

“Of course. It’s good you’ve got Uru there already, he’d be my top choice anyway.” He nodded. “Keep a close eye on him though; he runs himself ragged when things like this happen. I need him conscious enough to be able to communicate with me when you all land.”

Hux didn’t doubt this. He’d seen the man literally render himself unconscious trying to Force heal Mila’s head injury the day she died. “He’s focused on healing right now, but I think you should speak to him before we land to get a better assessment of Sev’s injuries.”

“Absolutely. I’ll be here – patch back through to me in 15 minutes or so. Focus on getting here safely; Iz and I can keep his condition under control.”

They cut communication again and Hux returned his attention to Cohren. He appeared to be completely focused on the ship’s controls.

He’d been in similar situations before. The worst part was always the wait, being stuck on a ship unable to do anything other than go in the direction you’re supposed to go. He watched the stars streak past in the distance. All they could do was wait while Cohren took them back as quickly as possible.

On the dash before him, the com button blinked. Someone was trying to contact them. An unknown source. He hesitated for a moment, and then accepted the transmission.

 

**

 

They moved Sev onto a table, and Iz took position by his head, keeping his hands over his face, his eyes pinched shut as he focused on helping his friend. Cohren and Huz took to the cockpit, and the ship lurched sharply as they took off.

The Chiss stood next to Baz, watching Iz closely. _“What is he doing?”_

_“Healing him. It’s a bit complicated to explain. He can utilize what they call the Force.”_

Beneath Iz’s hands, the bruising on Sev’s face could be seen disappearing _._

_“This seems… extraordinary.”_

Baz was certain the Chiss had never seen the Force used before. It was unknown to Chiss, even to this day. _“It is. I’ve never seen it used like this before.”_

_“What is it?”_

_“That’s a question I can’t answer for you, but I’m sure he would be happy to inform you when he’s not busy.”_

Cerys went to Iz’s side, more like a silent form of support than anything else.

Pip finally seemed to notice the newcomer just before they entered space. She came over to them, looking up at him. “Was he down there?”

Oni nodded, “He was.”

She smiled politely and held out her hand to him. “Hello, my name is Pipista. You are?”

The Chiss blinked down at her. “ _Is this short one a child? What is she doing with her hand?_ ”

Given the situation, he knew he shouldn’t laugh, but he had to stop a snort. “ _No. Well, not really. She’s 18._ ”

“ _Hm. Odd. She is very small._ ”

Pip was still smiling at him with her hand out.

“He doesn’t speak any Basic.” Oni explained quickly.

“Does he not understand what a handshake is?”

“It isn’t really a Chiss custom.”

Her smile tightened. “Is it that difficult to understand?”

 _“You’re supposed to shake her hand.”_ Baz explained to him.

The Chiss looked at him, nearly disgusted by the suggestion. _“Why would I want to touch her hand? I have no idea who she is.”_

Pip blinked a few times, looking morbidly offended. “Okay. I guess manners don’t matter much to him?” She dropped her hand. “Who is he?”

“He refuses to give us a name, but we believe he may be… well, he may be a clone of our uncle.” Oni said. “Your comrades all know, but we would appreciate if you would all avoid spreading this information.”

“He refuses to give you his name? Why?”

“He’s been very cautious to trust us. I think he just needs some time to warm up to us, to know that he can trust us. He’s probably terrified; he was trapped down there by himself for some time.” He nodded to her, changing the subject. “What happened up here? How did you end up locked in the storage compartment?

She shook her head, “We saw another ship approach and tried to warn you guys, but the comlinks were cut off. When they started coming off the ship – there were 15 or 16 people – we saw they were armed and figured they didn’t mean well. Merik locked me in there and told me to keep quiet while he took care of everything.” She fell silent, suddenly looking very worried again. “I heard shouting, and blaster fire. I don’t know… but the blood…”

The Chiss was looking at the smears of blood near the exit. “ _Was there another on your crew?_ ”

“ _There was. I suspect the people who attacked us must have taken him.”_ He looked around, switching back to Basic. “We didn’t see a body. That must be a decent sign. He must still be alive.”

“Poor Cohren, I don’t know how he’s managing to keep it together…”

The Chiss frowned. _“Were those people looking for me? I do not know why they would want me enough to cause this sort of trouble…”_

Baz wasn’t quite ready for this conversation. He had a feeling it was a case of mistaken identity. The people who took Merik must have thought they were going to find Thrawn’s clone. That would certainly be worth killing people over, in certain circles. He resorted to reassuring the man, because he probably had enough on his mind to begin with. _“We don’t know anything yet. Let’s not draw conclusions based on speculation.”_

Oni shook her head, watching Sev.  “We honestly had no idea we would find a person, my scans didn’t show anything. We certainly didn’t think this would be even remotely dangerous.  We never… _never_ would have asked you all to accompany us had we known…”

There was a commotion from the cockpit, and Hux shoved Cohren out the door, “Stay out here, I will deal with this!” He slammed the door, leaving Cohren pacing outside, running his fingers through his white-blonde hair. Pip and Cerys went to his side quickly.

 “Those fuckers have my brother, and they’re holding him hostage for the damn clone we found!”

The Chiss clearly doesn’t understand what he was saying, but blinked when Cohren pointed to him. He knew enough to know he was being talked about, and based on Cohren’s disposition it wasn’t in a good light.

Oni glanced to Baz and nodded. They went to join Hux in the cockpit.

There was a projection on the dash – a well groomed, professional looking man with dark hair graying at the temples. He spoke to them from what looked like the interior of a ship. In the background, Merik lay on the ground, unconscious. He was clearly injured, a deep red stain emanating from his shoulder.

“Ah – I see the man’s family is there.” He nodded cordially, “Hello to you both. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“What exactly do you want from us?” Oni crossed her arms. “I see you have one of our crew – you’re trying to make a trade?”

“Yes, dear. I’m interested in the clone of the Grand Admiral that is aboard your ship.”

“What exactly do you want him for?” Oni scowled at him.

Baz stepped in. If there was one thing he always excelled at, it was pointing out logical paths to others. His sister had even utilized him to negotiate a few business deals before. “I’m afraid your request doesn’t make much sense to me. Do you intend on utilizing his mind? Do you think he would actually willingly work with you after you’ve taken actions like this?”

He gave a perfect, greasy smile. “Not at all. You underestimate us already. How much do you suppose a clone of your father is worth to his own people?”

Baz frowned. “You intend to sell him to the Chiss?”

“Precisely. We will be happy to return this one to you in exchange for the clone.” He motioned to Merik.

Oni frowned. “I hate to tell you this, but the clone…”

“Is staying with us.” Hux said loudly, cutting her off. “We are willing to discuss a trade, but _not_ for the clone.”

The man glanced back to the blonde, “His life may not mean much to you, but it does mean something to the other man that was in the room, doesn’t it? They must be siblings.”

“As I said, we will not negotiate for the clone.”

“Hm. Well, I’m calling your bluff, Hux. I tell you what, we’ll be generous and give you forty-eight hours to decide before we kill him, since we’re old friends. That should be long enough for these two to say goodbye to their father.” He smirked a little at the thought. “Though, we do need to keep a sense of urgency here. I hear one of my soldiers made quite the mess out of one of your shipmates? I’ll send her in to visit this one every four hours until you make your decision.” He paused. “You have my contact information. I hope to hear from you soon.”

Before Hux could respond, the screen blinked out.

Oni looked at him with a raised eyebrow, “That is a _friend_ of yours?”

Hux looked sour. “Certainly not. We never got along in the days of the Order; Sloane herself booted him from the organization a few years after I met you two. You couldn’t trust the man worth a damn. He’d sell his own mother if you offered enough credits. Unfortunately he is relatively clever – he left the Order and started up a crime syndicate in the region.” He huffed. “This complicates things. But we do have a few things working in our favor…”

“Oh?”

“First, he hasn’t yet realized that he has Phasma’s son. I’m sure he’ll figure that out soon, probably pry it out of Merik. But for now, he doesn’t know what an effective bargaining chip he has. Second, the one who messed up Sev so terribly… I did a number on her before she escaped. She’s got at least three blaster shots in her. So he’s bluffing at least a little – there’s no way she’ll be in any condition to do much for at least one full day. And third…” He looked sharply at Oni, “You need to keep your mouth shut, Oni. He _cannot_ know that the clone we have is not your father. The second he knows that, Merik is of no value whatsoever. He’ll kill him.”

Her mouth twisted into a little frown, “Oh.”

“Let me do the talking here.” He shook his head, “So you really believe the man is a clone of your uncle?”

“We can’t be sure until he opens up a little to us, but yes, we do agree that is the most likely option.” Oni said.

“I take the clone does not know?”

“No… we haven’t told him. His memory seems patchy.”

“Did you ever meet his prime?”

“He went missing shortly before our father joined the Empire, presumably dead.”

“Hm. Well, then that would make sense that he doesn’t remember. Most cloning technology has been lost or forgotten; the process had far too many flaws. Memories, obviously, have nothing to do with one’s genes, so they have to be implemented manually. If your uncle went missing years ago, he would have no memories at all from the man. What he most likely has are vague memories your father chose to share with him. Thrawn probably saw the flaws in taking that too far – I imagine he simply implemented basic memories, such as their home world, their language and customs. It is odd to me that he would have him born here, rather than Csilla, and not give him the knowledge to speak Basic.” Hux paused. “Do you think it’s possible he’s refusing to tell you his name because he doesn’t know it?”

“That very well could be the reason.” Baz said, feeling a pang of empathy for the Chiss. What a terrible, confusing situation. No wonder he’s refusing to speak with any of them.

“We should press him a little more on that.” Oni said. “He’s a bit… proud. He could very well be withholding it just because he’s stubborn.” She paused. “If he is our father’s brother, that wouldn’t be entirely out of the realm of possibilities. It seems like something our father might do in the same situation.”

Baz nodded. “Oni and I will try to pry anything out of him that we can. I do think, however, we need to be very cautious with our approach.”

Hux tilted his head to the side. “Do you know why the Empire didn’t use clone troopers? Partially because there were such high instances of them going mad. I’m sure you can imagine… the mind is not set to process information without any historical context. Memories are essential to a sense of self. I’m certain your father would have understood this, so I’m surprised he actually chose to move forward with a plan like this. The point is – we need to keep a close eye on the clone.”

“I think we can manage that.” Baz paused. “We also need to consider what to do about Merik.”

Hux frowned. “I have a long history with his family. I owe it to both Cohren and his mother to find a way to get him back here.”

Oni nodded. “Baz and I will lend our resources, of course. He was on this mission to help us. I hope you and your crew will understand we did not expect this to be dangerous in any way. We never would have asked your help had we known, certainly we never would have let you bring your daughter along.”

Hux nodded, rubbing his mouth. “Yes, of course. I know you both better than that. They, unfortunately, do not, but they are all good people. They will understand. Our priority right now needs to be getting Sev proper medical attention, and keeping this group under control. We can refocus after we’ve arrived at the main ship. Right now I’m primarily concerned about Cohren, who’s under a great deal of stress. And Iz, who I’ve seen…” He paused awkwardly for a moment, shaking his head. “In these situations he tends to overexert himself trying to help. He’ll run himself ragged and render himself completely useless to us. And Cerys… she hides it well, but she’s quite disturbed by what happened – Sev was inured protecting us, she’s feeling some guilt over it. She’s keeping herself together for Iz and Cohren, but she’s suffering.” He frowned. He didn’t like the idea of his daughter being unhappy. Baz never would have pictured the man as a father, but somehow he turned out to be a good one.

“What about the little one? Pip?”

“Pip is like her brother… they are good people. She’s going to focus entirely on helping the others; luckily I think she has higher energy reserves than the rest of them at the moment, so she will most likely be our best ally when it comes to holding everything together.”

“Good. Do you trust Cohren back in here to finish piloting?”

Hux nodded, “Yes, in fact I think he needs it. He needs something to keep his mind off what’s going on. I’ll keep an eye on him.”

They nodded and returned out to the hull. Iz was still working on Sev. Cohren was seated at the end of the table, his hand on Sev’s foot. He looked hollow. Cerys sat next to him, her hand on his back.

Hux stepped out authoritatively, nodding to Cohren. “Your brother is okay. We’ll discuss the matter more once Sev is where he needs to be. I expect we should reach the ship in about 20 minutes…”

“Seventeen.” Cohren said flatly. “I can get us there and docked in seventeen.”

Hux nodded, “Good. You will return to the control panels, I think you will be most effective there. Iz, how are you holding up?”

“The bleeding has stopped, and I think I’ve cleared out any issues from the broken nose…”

“Good. And how are _you_ holding up?” He added a little more emphasis this time.

“Me? Oh. Good. I’m good.”

Hux didn’t seem to quite believe him. “I’m going to patch Arim through to your comlink, I want you to give him a comprehensive assessment of Sev’s condition. He will be taking lead on Sev’s case as soon as we land.” He looked around. “Where is Pip? And the clone?”

“She took him back to the other room. Iz mentioned that he’s injured, she’s going to get him fresh bandages until Iz can take a look at him.”

“Good.” He nodded to Baz and Oni, “Will you two go check on them?”

“Yeah.” He and Oni made their way to the extra room on the ship. Before they reached the door, they could hear the two:

 “I am Pip.”

“Pip.” He repeated after her.

There was a pause.

“Come _on_ , just tell me your name already.”

Nothing.

They looked into the room. They two sat at a table, a plate of cut-up fruit in front of the Chiss and a blanket draped over his shoulders. His arm was on the table next to packages of fresh bandages. He’d rolled his sleeve up, exposing deep, red-purple gashes in his forearm. Pip poked his shoulder, “Stubborn.”

He pointed to himself, “Stubborn?”

 

**

 

Pip was happy when Iz suggested she help the Chiss with his injured arm; she felt a little useless watching Iz work on Sev and Cohren try and keep himself calm while Hux, Oni, and Baz were in the cockpit. She needed to do something, even if it meant trying to help the rather rude Chiss.

She tugged his sleeve a little, motioning for him to come with her. He seemed to understand, following her down the hallway to the private room. The ship was small, this was the only private room, which was equipped with a long table and seating for 8-10 people. It occurred to her, as they walked, that food might help the situation. He seemed resistant to opening up to them; food was a universal language, right?

She had him take a seat in at the table while she rummaged through the sparse food supply and found some assorted fruits in the food storage compartment. She nearly took them to him, when it occurred to her that he was likely not familiar with the varieties of fruit they had. She didn’t want him biting into a pit or anything like that, so she sliced a few of them up and took them to him on a plate. He watched her closely, but didn’t touch the food.

She frowned a little and grabbed a slice for herself before leaving to find their supply of fresh bandages. She grabbed some bacta-laced antiseptic as well.

When she returned to him, the plate of fruit slices was empty. Evidently he was hungry; she wasn’t gone very long at all.

She tossed the bandages on the table and took the plate, slicing up more fruit for him. She wished they had something more than fruit, but they hadn’t stocked the ship well considering it was supposed to be a quick trip.

When she turned back to him with the plate piled full of food, he’d rolled his sleeve up to his forearm and was taking off the tattered makeshift bandages wound around the limb. Her brother was right – there were several gashes on the arm, including one very deep one that made her cringe. The wound was still open and the bandages were stained dark with blood. He was clearly not healing well.

As she set the plate before him, she noticed the deep cut had tiny shards of glass stuck in it. He was inspecting it closely, a small frown on his face.

She grabbed his wrist and pulled his arm closer, so she could get a good look. The shards were a problem. They needed to be removed.

He jerked his arm away from her, hissing something she couldn’t understand. She couldn’t tell if he was mad because she caused him pain, or if he was just so pretentious he didn’t want her touching him. She preferred to think it was the first option.

Another odd thing: he was cold. Very cold. The injuries were taking a toll on him.

She left the room again to get something she could use to pick the glass shards out, and grabbed the bandages before she left. No doubt he would try and re-dress the wound himself if she left them for him.

When she returned with more supplies, and a blanket, the plate was empty again.

It dawned on her that it was very possible he was stuck in that underground facility with no food.

He blinked at her.

She threw the blanket over his shoulders and grabbed the plate and cut up all the fruit they had left. When she returned, he’d taken the blanket off and was trying to pick out the little shards with the tweezers, wincing with pain as he did.

“Stop, stop, don’t do that…” She set the plate down and snatched the tweezers from him. She threw the blanket back over his shoulders and pointed to the plate, “Eat. Let me take care of this. And you’re cold. Just keep the stupid blanket on.”

He withdrew his injured arm protectively, muttering something at her.

She rolled her eyes, “Come on. Give me your arm.” When he made no reaction, she snapped, demanding it, “Arm.”

Cautiously, like he really didn’t trust her, he extended his arm toward her. “Arm.”

She nodded. “Yes. Arm. Thank you. _Finally_.” She lowered a pair of magnifying goggles over her eyes and set to work, picking out the tiny shards and dropping them carefully into a small metal bowl she’d grabbed.

He said something. She looked up, over the goggles. He was pointing at the plate. He wanted to know the word.

“Food.”

“Food.” He mumbled something to himself, but still didn’t touch any of the fruit.

She frowned. “You don’t want to eat around me, do you? Seriously…” She sighed and grabbed a slice, popping it into her mouth and motioning to him, “Eat.”

“Eat.” He paused, and then shook his head.

She rolled her eyes and went back to work. If he wanted to starve due to his stubbornness, she was fine with that.

He was very still, letting her work for several minutes, until she caught him snatch a piece off the plate quickly. She hid a grin, deciding to not let him see any reaction. He probably needed to eat. If he didn’t want her watching, she’d just pretend she didn’t notice.

He snatched a few more pieces before she finished the big cut. She inspected the others, but there wasn’t any glass in them. She reached for the cleaning salve she brought, but he swatted her hand away, demanding to apply it himself. She decided not to fight it – she’d taken care of the hard part, if it made him feel good to do this himself then she’d let him do it.

He paused, and pointed at the wound.

“Cut.”

He nodded. “Cut.” He motioned to her, “Pipista?”

Her name sounded a little odd with is accent. Or maybe it wasn’t just the accent. Baz and Oni had different accents than the Chiss, but they spoke in a similar manner – even, calm, soothing, almost like a purr. Maybe they just had different vocal cords.

She nodded, “Yes. Pipista. My name is Pipista.” She motioned to him, “Your name?”

He shook his head, turning his attention to re-wrapping his arm.

She frowned and poked his shoulder, hard. “Stubborn.”

He looked at her for a moment, and then pointed to himself, “Stubborn?”

She snorted a laugh before she noticed Baz and Oni, standing in the doorway watching them. They both looked like they were biting back laughs.

She smiled at them. “Hello. I’m sorry, I’m teaching him things I probably shouldn’t.”

Next to her, the Chiss said something she couldn’t understand. Baz smirked a little and responded to him. A frown twitched on his face and he turned his attention back to his arm, finishing off the bandages.

Oni wrinkled her nose, “I think that was a completely appropriate word to teach him.”

“You got him food?” Baz asked. “Thank you.”

She frowned, “Well yes, I sliced up some fruit for him because I thought it might be a nice gesture – you know, to show him I mean well, and then I went to grab bandages and he scarffed everything down while I was gone. I… I suppose I feel a little bad for him, there wasn’t any food down there was there?”

Oni shook her head, “No, in fact the only way we got him to agree to come onto the ship was by offering to feed him.”

She watched the Chiss as he carefully unrolled his sleeve, feeling a pang of sympathy for him, “God, he must have been terrified. How long was he trapped down there? Trapped in with no food… I can’t even imagine.”

The two were quiet for a moment, looking sad.

“What’s the blanket for?” Baz asked.

“Oh… he was cold. He’s being very stubborn about that as well, but I think his body is struggling to recover from the injuries…”

Baz and Oni giggling cut her short.

“Pip, I think you might be one of the best people I’ve ever met.” Baz couldn’t stop laughing. “He’s supposed to be cold. But that’s very sweet of you.”

She felt like a bit of an idiot. Next to her, the Chiss was taking the blanket off and folding it again.

“He’s not being too much of a pain for you, is he?” Oni asked.

“Well, other than refusing to give me his name and refusing to eat in front of me… oh, and refusing to let me help with his arm. He at least let me pick out the glass shards, but I had to fight him for it.” She grabbed the remaining bandages from the table and stood. “I should leave for a bit, if he really hasn’t eaten for awhile and he doesn’t want to eat around me…”

She turned to leave, but he snatched the bandages from her hand, snapping at her. “Cut.”

She looked at him. He lifted his left pant leg a little and she could see more bloodied, makeshift bandages.

“Cut.” He said again, and then looked to the other two, chattering at them.

They both frowned. “He says it’s all over his side. He was being kept in a glass tube, it must have shattered and he fell out… he must be cut up pretty badly.”

The Chiss lifted the hem of his shirt over his side a little, exposing a series of gashes, a few as deep as the one on his arm. She guessed he couldn’t find enough fabric to wrap everything. His blue skin was stained red with blood; if his clothing wasn’t all black, massive stains would have been noticeable.

Oni made a hissing noise as she inhaled sharply. “Oh. That… looks like it hurts.”

“Er…” For a moment she wished she had Iz’s ability to command the Force for healing pruposes. “Yeah, there’s glass in some of those still.”

“You’re not a medic, are you?” Oni asked. From most people it would have sounded accusatory. But with her speaking mannerisms it sounded almost more like a completely logical statement.

“No. But my mother was.” She added the fact quickly, hoping to reassure her and Baz that she had the situation mostly under control, even if she didn’t really feel like she did. How difficult could it be to pick glass out of someone anyway? “I grew up watching her do this sort of thing. I’m familiar with it.”

“Oh. That’s good.” Oni seemed reassured. Pip left out that she only watched her mother do this a few times, and only when she was very, very young.

She looked over what she could see of the wounds. “Can you please tell him to get undressed?”

This would be another fight, she was sure of it. With how buttoned up and conservative he was in regard to everything else, it would certainly be a fight to get him to undress around her.

Baz said something to him, and much to her surprise he didn’t seem to object. He started to remove his shirt, somewhat stiffly. He was clearly in pain, even if he was doing his best to not show it.

The gashes ran from the waistband of his pants, over his ribcage and up the side of his shoulder blade, where there was one particularly nasty one that even trumped the one on his arm. She was certain there would still be glass caught in it – given the location, there was no way that he would have been able to clean it well. She’d do what she could, but Iz or another medic would need to take a look at it once they landed.

She looked at the other two, “Did Hux say how long it would be until we arrived at the ship?”

“He said twenty minutes when we came back here,” Baz said.

“But Cohren insisted he could get us there in seventeen.” Oni said.

She nodded, “I’ll just work on the worst of it then. He needs to see an actual medic when we get to the main ship.”

“I believe your brother and Hux are working on having a med team prepared and ready to take Sev as soon as we arrive.” Baz said. “I imagine one of them will be able to address his wounds. Your brother seems…” He trailed off, searching for the right thing to say. She already knew what he meant. He was draining himself tending to Sev. “Tired.” He finished, almost lamely. “I think it’s best to let him rest when we return.”

She nodded. “He tends to do that in these situations. I hate seeing Iz do this to himself, but for Sev’s sake…” She turned back to the Chiss and forgot what she was saying. He’d stripped down to nothing. “Oh…”

It made sense, when she thought about it. He needed help with the wounds and the worst of them was a deep gash that ran across his hip. She just wasn’t really expecting it.

Oni rubbed her eyebrows, her hand covering her line of sight. “Yeah, I’m not staying here for this part. I don’t need to see this.” She left down the hallway.

“Er… can you tell him to lie down on his side on the table?” She hoped she wasn’t blushing too terribly, but her face felt really hot.

Baz said something to him and he complied, getting onto the table with slow, pained movements. She moved to his backside; it seemed when he fell he took the blunt of the landing on his side, toward the back. And she’d rather not be staring at his frontside if she didn’t have to.

She set to work on his hip first, since that was the worst gash. The Chiss said something to Baz, who responded with a sigh, shaking his head. He argued back with something and Baz nodded a little.

“He says he doesn’t want you touching him with your hands.”

She paused, blinking. “That’s going to be a little difficult. What’s his problem?”

“He says his skin is very sensitive. It makes sense, right? He was essentially just born a few days ago. He’s never had contact with another being before. It must feel incredibly odd.”

She nodded a little, “I guess that does make sense. Let him know I’ll do my best, but I can’t completely avoid it.” The room fell silent for a moment. She tried to entice Baz into a conversation; she really didn’t want to think too much about the nude, well-built blue man lying on the table before her. “I’m not terribly familiar with Chiss. Are they all blue?”

“Yes, I only really found that out the first time I visited Csilla with my sister. Shades vary slightly, but yes, they’re all blue.”

“You visited Csilla? I’ve heard they’re very leery about letting outsiders on the planet.”

“Mm. Yes, they are. I visited with my sister when she moved there.”

From the table, the Chiss said something. He and Baz conversed for a moment.

“It’s interesting,” Baz said to her, “He’s aware of Csilla. He recognizes the name of the planet, he knows the customs. But when it comes to specific details, he knows nothing. He says he’s having trouble remembering.”

She frowned. It seemed so sad. “I can’t imagine what that must be like… he has no idea he’s a clone?”

“No.”

She stopped working and looked up at Baz. “Why would your father do such a thing to his brother? I’m sorry, but it seems… cruel more than anything.”

Baz shook his head, “I know. I keep wondering the same thing. I wish I could piece it together, but my father has never been an easy man to understand.”

“Are you worried?”

“About what? Telling him? Yes. Oni and I both are.”

“Not just telling him. His stability in general. People stopped making clones because they were so prone to mental instability. I mean… you can build a shell, but a person is made by the memories they have, by what fills them. I can’t imagine having some vague sense of who you are but not being able to recall full memories…”

She trailed off just as Cerys came into view through the doorway. “Hey, we’re…” She suddenly turned a little red, her mouth falling open. “Oh… er…” Her mouth hung open for a second. “I… um… Yeah, so how’s it going back here? We’ve got about ten minutes until we land. Iz wanted me to check on you.”

“Well… It’s going. I think he’s in worse condition than Iz thought.”

“Yeah, he only mentioned his arm being injured.” Her voice was slightly higher than ususal.

“It’s not good. I’m doing what I can, but he needs to see someone who knows more than I do. How is Iz doing?”

“He’s… well, you know. He’s tired. Keeping it under control pretty well though. He’ll last until we get to the ship, but he’ll need to rest after that.”

“Can you send one of the medics back here when they come to get Sev?” She had to use a little force to remove a particularly deep shard caught in his shoulder blade and he made a small, pained noise. Blood started running from the wound. “Er… _shit_ … yeah, I need help. He needs help.” She grabbed a bottle of clotting ointment and smeared it on quickly. He swatted at her, barking something, clearly not happy with the contact.

She frowned at him. “Deal with it, jerk. You’re bleeding like crazy back here, and there’s no way you can take care of this yourself.”

Cerys was already turned away from them, leaving. “I’m sure there will be a spare medic. I’ll send someone back here right away.” She shuffled away down the hallway, her ears still red.

“You said your mother was a medic. Did she have the same abilities as your brother?”

“Nope. He was the only one of us that could use the force.” She paused. While they were on the subject of families, she might as well bring up the question that’d been snaking around in her mind for the past few days. Baz seemed nice enough, he might actually answer. “So… if you don’t mind me asking… what was it like to have Thrawn as a father?”

“Mm. Well, to make a long story short, I didn’t grow up with the man. I didn’t even meet him until I was around your age.”

“Really? Did you know who he was?”

“No, not at all. He and my mother had a bit of a falling out; she refused to speak of him. She told me that he was an important man in a large military, but I didn’t know much more than that.”

“How crazy… how did you meet him? Were you surprised?”

“I met him when he found my sister. Honestly, I think I surprised him more than he surprised me.”

“Oh? How so?”

“My mother had cut off all contact with him shortly before I was born. He knew he had a son, but he didn’t know anything else. My father is a difficult man to evoke any sort of emotional reaction from, but I will always remember his face when he first met me.”

“He expected you to look like your sister, didn’t he?”

“Yes, I do think so.” He laughed a little. “And I was a little surprised to see him as well. I’d never seen anyone who looked like me at the time.”

She glanced up to him. “You might have the most interesting life of anyone I’ve ever met.”

“Oh… I doubt that.” He laughed again. “What about Hux?”

“Hux isn’t half as interesting as you’d think he was. You know, I was expecting some fanged, villainous being that I could hate so easily, but instead I met a slightly neurotic, very well mannered father who loves his daughter more than anything and can’t seem to keep track of the last place he put his datapad. It was – it still is – hard to believe his involvement with the First Order. I’ve never quite been able to reconcile it in my mind.”

“Mm. It’s interesting, isn’t it? When Oni and I found out what he’d done, we could barely believe it. I think… I think Hux is actually very much like my father. Admittedly, my father thought it was an uncessicarily aggressive move. But these high-powered officials tend to see moves like this in a similar manner. To them it’s not personal; it’s simply a strategic move.”

Pip frowned. “Well, Hux doesn’t think like that anymore.”

“He does seem to have changed. There used to be this… this fire in him. I can’t really explain it. But he doesn’t have it any more. I think his daughter must have changed that.”

“And Mila,” Pip said offhandedly.

Baz grew quiet and Pip instantly regretted saying anything.

“Who?”

“Oh… Um…” Hux must not have mentioned Mila to them. Of course he hadn’t. The whole thing was still so painful for him. He hated talking about it – Pip had never even heard him speak of her. She’d only heard about Mila through Cerys and Iz. “I don’t know what I’m talking about, sorry.”

She glanced up to Baz – he had his hand over his mouth, running his fingers over his cheekbone absentmindedly, looking speculative. She’d done a bad job of covering her slip-up.

Mercifully, the ship lurched to a stop, ending the conversation. She could hear Hux barking orders at the others down the hallway as the ship’s door slid open. There was a great deal of commotion out there, with lots of footsteps and shouting.

It started to die down just as quickly as it started, and she was surprised to see Iz, dragging his feet, walk through the door. He paused, looking extremely tired, and blinked at the exposed Chiss.

“Oh. That’s why Cerys looked like she wanted to apologize.”

“Iz… Are they sending another medic? He needs more attention than you thought…”

“No. I can take care of it.”

“Er…” Baz put a hand on his shoulder, “You sure about that? It’s just some cuts, I’m sure someone else can take care of it…”

He waved his hand away and slumps over next to Pip, “Yeah, I can take care of this one last thing.”

Pip frowned. Baz frowned. Neither of them liked this idea.

He looked at the gash on his hip, “Damn… he got it pretty bad.”

“They were full of glass shards as well… I could tell he tried to get them out of the one on his arm and the one on his hip, but he couldn’t do much with the shoulder.”

“Hm.” He peered a little closer at the shoulder wound, “You did pretty good, Pip.”

“Did I?”

“Yeah. Looks like you got all the glass out. I will take care of the bigger cuts… Especially this one on his hip. I’m concerned about that one.” He sighed a little, seeming to deflate in his seat. “I’m afraid I can’t do much more than that.”

“Iz, I’m sure another medic could…”

He waved at her, “No, no. Stop. I’m fine.”

He clearly was not fine.

Baz explained everything to the Chiss quickly, who made a cutting motion.

“He says he’d rather you go get some rest.”

Iz frowned, “Would you all stop it? I’m fine, let me finish this and then I’ll go get some rest.” He placed a hand inches above the shoulder wound and inhaled deeply.

The Chiss jerked a little, more out of surprise than anything. Iz moved to the other major wounds on his hip and arm before letting his arms drop, sighing. “Okay. I’m done.”

She squeezed his arm, “Are you sure you’re okay?” The real answer was in the wounds – they weren’t fully healed, like he would normally do. He’d done the best he could with what little energy he had left. At least he’d stopped the bleeding.

He gave her a half-hearted smile and nodded, “Yeah, I’m good. I just need to go for a quick nap…”

“How is Sev?”

He frowned again, “I don’t know whether I’m more concerned from Sev or Cohren right now. Sev’s in the med bay, under the care of the best medic I know. Cohren went with them, though I doubt they’ve allowed him into the room with Sev.”

“I should go check on him…”

“Itzuazua?”

He was too tired hide his surprise when the Chiss said his name. He was up from the table, finally with some clothing on, stretching his shoulder.

“Eh… Yes?”

He bowed his head a little, speaking slowly and heavily accented, but clearly, “Thank you.”

He looked at Pip, “Did you teach him that?”

She shook her head, “No, he must have picked up on that on his own.”

The Chiss said something to Baz, who laughed. “He says you have a good name for a human.”

“Huh. I’m impressed. He nailed it on his first try. I don’t think I’ve known anyone to do that.”

Baz shrugged, “Chiss are used to very long names.”

“I’m more impressed that he picked up on the phrase ‘thank you’ on his own.”

Baz nodded his head from side to side. “I’ve noticed this tendency… My father has spoken of it as well; he says he used it to his advantage while working heavily with humans. Humans have a tendency to look at a Chiss and just see a blue human. Biologically speaking humans and Chiss are so similar I suppose it’s an easy mistake to make. But for all the similarities there are a great deal of differences. He’s distinctly _not_ a human. His mind works entirely differently. Chiss tend to process logical connections much faster than humans. Basic is a relatively logical language, and he’s been hearing certain words and phrases repeated enough… I imagine, fully immersed in the language as he is now, you will likely be able to have simple conversations with him in seven to ten days.”

“I take it that means you all are sticking around to help with Merik?” Iz said.

Baz gave a stiff nod, “Of course. That was never a question for either of us. We will lend any help you need.”

“Good.” Iz teetered out the doorway and turned down the hall.

“I need to go check on Cohren and Sev,” Pip cleaned up the area quickly. “He should probably go to the med bay as well, so someone can look at the more minor injuries. I’ll show you the way.”

“Thank you.” He said something to the Chiss and they all started off.

Iz hadn’t even made it out of the ship – he was leaning heavily against a wall, wrapped into Cerys’ arms with his head resting on her shoulder. She looked very concerned.

Baz frowned. “Why don’t you two come to the med bay with us? They probably have a spare bed.”

Cerys nodded, “Thank you, that’s a good idea, but…”

He put a hand up, “Really, I insist. I think it would be a very good idea for him to…”

She shook her head, “No, you don’t understand. He’s asleep. I need help moving him.”


	6. Chapter 6

Oni was already in the med bay when Baz and the others got there. She sat with Cohren, speaking with him quietly. He didn’t really look like he was hearing anything she said; he was more just a hollow shell, looking at one of the med bay doors vacantly.

Baz had to carry Iz – he was passed out cold. He moved him into a nedical bed and nodded to Cerys, “Your friend… Cohren. Do you think it will help for my sister and I to speak with him?” He was afraid the man might place blame on them for everything that was happening. Baz certainly couldn’t blame him for doing so – this mess was their fault after all.

Cerys looked down at Iz with a concerned expression. “Let me go with you. I don’t know how he’s going to react to this whole thing.”

“Pip, do you mind staying with him while a medic finishes cleaning him up?” He motioned to the Chiss.

Pip nodded. “Yeah, just let him know. I’m sure he’ll mind.”

This was precisely why he knew he could trust her to watch over the Chiss. Because she wouldn't put up with any of his pretentious ways. He nodded  to the Chiss,  _“They’re going to have a medic clean the rest of your wounds. I need to go speak with Cohren, Pip will stay here with you.”_

He flexed his fingers, _“Thank you, but I do not need a medic. The remaining wounds are minor, I can take care of them myself.”_

Baz sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers. “He thinks he doesn’t need anyone to look at the injuries.”

Cerys frowned. “He’s very stubborn, isn’t he?”

“Subborn.” He repeated the Basic word in a thick accent, glaring at Baz. _“What does this word mean? The females keep referring to me using it...”_

_“Just stay here, okay? A doctor is going to look at your wounds, I won’t let you take care of this yourself.”_

He and Cerys made their way out to the hallway, to Cohren. Cerys put a hand on his arm, “Have they given you any news?”

He barely shook his head. “No, they just took him into the room. Nobody’s said anything. I don’t know… I don’t know what’s happening.”

“I don’t know if it’s of any consolation, but my sister and I are going to do everything in our power to help you. We have extensive resources, they are all at your disposal right now.”

Oni nodded, “Hux is already working on a strategy, and you’ve got a great team of doctors taking care of Sev. We will make this right.”

He nodded blankly. “Thank you, both.” He blinked a few times and looked at Cerys like he desperately wanted help. “I can’t… I can’t really talk right now.”

The door before them opened and a tall man stepped out, dressed in a doctor’s coat and wearing a surgical mask. “Well, Cohren, I do have some good news for you…” He paused, blinking at Baz. “Baz? Oni?”

He pulled the mask off and Baz finally recognized him. Oni cracked a smile, “Sebbie? I didn’t recognize you. It’s good to see you again.” She nodded to Cerys, “Sebbie was the medic on the mission that your father found me on.”

Sebbie’s mouth hung open for a second, “I had no idea you two were here… It’s really good to see you both.” He shook his head, “Well… yes, let me get back to business really quickly here. Cohren, do you mind if we speak out here or would you rather be in private?”

“This is fine. How is he?”

He pulled a chair over and sat with them, looking at Cohren with a great amount of concern. “Sev is going to be okay. We have him in a bacta tank; he’s showing good progress already. The swelling in his brain has reduced greatly; personally, I’m not even concerned about that any more. By the start of the next cycle I’m sure the swelling will be almost completely gone. So the thing you need to focus on right now is that he is going to live. You have Iz to thank very much for that.”

Cohren nodded, rubbing his face and looking mildly relieved. “When do you think he’ll wake up?”

“I don’t feel confident in my ability to accurately answer that question right now, however, if I had to give you a rough answer… if he continues healing at the rate he is now with no changes for the worse, I think we can expect him to be awake in within 2-3 cycles.” He put his hands up, “Keep in mind that that answer is barely better than a guess. Like I said, it’s going to completely depend on whether or not his condition changes. And Iz’s abilities will make a difference. I’m not sure how that will factor into his recovery. I am hopeful, though. And you should be as well.”

Cohren nodded, almost zombie-like. “Thank you.”

“Now, I know you’ve got a lot on your plate right now.” He pulled a bottle of pills from his pocket and pushed them into Cohren’s hands. “Take two of these and go get some sleep. They’ll knock you out for about seven hours…”

Cohren shook his head, “No. I can’t…”

“Yeah, you can, and you need to. As it stands, you’re the person in charge of making decisions for him while he’s out. You need to rest, so you have a clear mind. Toward the end of this cycle take two, and get some sleep. Come check on him again as soon as you’re awake.” He looked at him seriously. “Really, Cohren. You need to sleep. If you won’t do it for yourself, then do it for him.”

“What if…”

“I have a counteractive we can give you. I’ll make sure you’re woken up in the event of anything bad happening. You’re welcome to take any of the spare beds here to keep close. But nothing bad is going to happen. Try to take care of yourself a little bit.”

Cohren gave a weak nod.

Sebbie stood again and nodded to him and his sister. “Can I speak with you to privately for a moment?”

“Of course.” They followed him into a private room.

Sebbie closed the door and turned to them both, wrapping Oni in a tight hug. “It’s great to see you both again. I had no idea you were here! I’m sorry the circumstances aren’t ideal…” He stepped back from her. “I take it you two are involved with this fiasco?”

Oni ran her fingers over her lips. “Yes, I fear this may be largely our fault.”

He nodded a little. “I don’t know much about the situation yet, but I doubt you two did much wrong. The woman that used his head like a mallet… now she did something wrong.”

“You really think he’s going to be okay?”

“I wouldn’t give a patient false hope in a situation like this; He’s going to live for sure. And I do expect he’ll be awake in the next few days, maybe sooner if Iz can provide any more help for him.” He frowned a little, “What I am concerned with, if I can be honest, is _who_ he will be when he wakes up.”

Baz raised an eyebrow, “Oh?”

“Sev suffered a pretty awful head injury. Luckily Iz was there to help relatively quickly, but I’m not sure what we can expect when he wakes. Memory loss, personality change, motor skill loss… could be anything. Could be nothing. It’s nearly impossible to tell with these things.” Sebbie sighed. “I really do feel for the guy… for both of them. Cohren’s got so much to deal with between this and his brother. And the kid…”

“The kid?” Baz rubbed his forehead. “Oh, I’d forgotten about his brother’s little girl…”

“As far as I understand, she’s being watched by someone now. I imagine Cerys and Iz will help out quite a bit; they’re both very good with kids.”

“I am happy he has you for a doctor. At least we know he’s in the hands of someone competent.”

Sebbie smirked at him, “What kind words. _Competent_. I’ll be sure to add that to my patient reviews.” He shook his head, laughing a little. “It’s good to see you both again. It’s been far too long. I’d love to catch up more, but I need to get back to Sev. He should be stable enough for me to leave for awhile in about eight hours. What do you say, we catch up over drinks?”

He glanced to Oni. “That actually sounds like a great idea. I think we could both use a drink.”

He said a quick goodbye to both of them and made his way back to Sev’s room, leaving he and Oni to speak.

She rubbed her forehead. “We need to speak with Thrass…”

“You’re set on calling him that already? We’re not even certain it’s him.”

She looked at him, her eyes tired. “It is him. I have spent a great deal of time thinking about the situation. It is the most logical answer.”

“Well… you are right about one thing for sure. We need to speak with him. It’s not going to go well. He’s in the other room with a medic working on his wounds. Now is as good a time as ever.”

The medic was just finishing up when they got to the room, and he was pulling his shirt back on. Pip looked relieved to see them.

He nodded to her. “Thanks for staying with him. Oni and I need to speak with him privately. It might be good for you to go to Cohren, I think he needs as much support as he can get.”

She nodded and hurried out of the room, likely to check on Cohren.

The Chiss looked at them. “ _I do appreciate the kindness you and your companions have shown me. Is there any news of the injured one?_ ”

Oni shook her head, “ _They say he will live, but can’t say anything about his condition until he regains consciousness._ ”

“ _What about the one that was taken?_ ”

She shook her head again, “ _No update about Cohren's brother yet. Hux is working diligently to negotiate a safe return. We saw him briefly during the transmission – he was injured. Urgency is important in the matter.”_

“ _His brother?_ ”

“ _Yes, the one that was taken is the brother of Cohren._ ”

The Chiss blinked. “ _He seemed very close to the injured one as well._ ”

“ _They are partners. Cohren has a great deal on his mind at the moment, between the two of them._ ”

He hesitated. “ _I am… I am very sorry to hear that. The ones that took his brother – they want to trade for me?_ ”

“ _Yes_.”

He was quiet for a moment. “I _do not understand. Why don’t you agree to the trade? What do I mean to you? I don’t even know what I mean to them. I cannot think of any reason that I would be worth such value to any of you._ ”

His sister looked at him. Baz sighed and closed the door. “ _Listen… Hux thinks you won’t give us your name because you do not remember your name. I don’t think that’s true. Your name is Mitth’ras’safis, isn’t it?_ ”

He was quiet for a moment. “ _This has something to do with my brother, doesn’t it? He has a knack for provoking people to such actions._ ”

“ _We have hesitated to explain this to you because it will come as quite a shock. Please listen to everything we have to say. And know that Oni and I, and all the others you have met for that matter, are your friends. We are here to help you._ ”

He pressed his fingers to his lips, looking sincerely concerned, “ _What has my brother done this time?_ ”

Oni inhaled sharply, “ _Your brother – Thrawn -- …_ ”

He snipped at her before she could finish, “ _You do not know my brother, at least have the courtesy to not call him by his core name._ ”

Her mouth hung open for a moment. “ _No, actually, we do know your brother. Quite well._ ”

He blinked. “ _My brother would have told me if he had met a species such as yours. Particularly considering you two are half Chiss. I’m sure he would have mentioned you._ ”

Baz sighed. “ _Thrawn is our father._ ”

He blinked again. “ _I’m afraid you must be sorely mistaken, how old are you two? You do know that my brother is younger than I am?_ ”

“ _Just… remember what I asked? Listen to all of what we have to say before deciding what you’re going to believe._ ”

Oni continued for him, “ _Years ago, our father was sent on a mission by the Chiss Ascendency. He was planted on a deserted planet and made to look like he’d been living there in exile for years…_ ”

The frown deepened. “ _You are both completely out of line. My brother is…_ ”

 _“Tell us, do you think it is within the realm of possibilities that your brother fell in love with a woman of a species he’d been sent to study for he Chiss?”_ Baz spoke over him as politely as possible. _“Does that sound like something he might do?”_

He crossed his arms. _“My brother has always been... slightly eccentric. Hypothetically, it would not surprise me to terribly much, but…”_

Oni looked at Baz, “I think we may be going about this conversation in the wrong way.” She looked to him, “ _What is the last thing you remember? Specifically. Do you remember… walking to work? Eating a meal? Getting into bed? Speaking with someone?_ ”

“ _No I… as I have said many times, I am having great difficulty remembering anything from before I woke._ ”

“ _But you know your name_.”

“ _Yes_.”

“ _And you know your brother’s name. Do you remember his face?_ ”

“ _Yes, of course I do._ ”

“ _Do_ _you remember the day you were adopted into the Mitth family? Do you remember the ceremony?_ ”

He frowned. “ _Specifically? No. Details are unclear to me at the moment._ ”

“ _But you do remember you were a merit adoptive?_ ”

“ _Yes. What is this about?_ ”

“ _Just humor me. Do you remember your parents?_ ”

“ _Yes, and their faces.”_

“ _Do you remember the last conversation you had with your mother? Or your father?_ ”

“ _No. This is really rather redundant. As I have expressed, I’m having difficulty remembering details._ ”

“ _That tube you came crashing out of_ ,” Baz said slowly. “ _That was a cloning tank._ ”

“ _A… what? Cloning? I’ve heard rumors some scientists on Csilla are close to a breakthrough with the technology but that hasn’t been perfected yet.”_

“ _It has._ ” Baz could tell he was already doing mental gymnastics around the truth. “ _The technology was developed by humans so long ago it’s already, for the most part, been lost._ ” He paused. “ _Listen… there is no easy way to say this, but you are a clone of the… well the original Thrass, so to speak._ ”

He blinked at them a few times. “ _Do you actually expect me to believe that?_ ”

“ _I’m hoping that you’ll at the very least be willing to accept it as a possibility and hear out the rest of our story.”_

“ _Your… story. That is exactly what it is. A story._ ”

Baz scratched his nose, “ _I understand how this must all sound to you._ ”

“ _No_ , _I do not think you do._ ”

“ _Thrass,_ ” Oni gave a sympathetic look to him. “ _If we wanted to make up a lie to tell you, don’t you think we’d go for something more… reasonable sounding? This is terribly difficult to explain…_ ”

“ _I’m sure it is._ ” He stood. “ _I do sincerely appreciate the generosity you and your companions have shown me. But I think that our relationship ends here._ ”

With that, he strode past them both and out the door.

They followed after him.

“ _Thrass, where do you think you are going to go?_ ”

He very nearly ran into Pip, taking a quick, clumsy step around her. He scowled at them, “ _Stop using my core name. I have not given you permission…_ ”

“ _You won’t be able to leave this ship,_ ” Baz pointed out to him. “ _I understand if you want to go back to Csilla, and we will take you there, but we cannot allow you to just leave…_ ”

“ _I will do as I please. Leave me alone._ ”

Oni grabbed Baz’s arm, forcing him to a stop. She shook her head at him. Thrass disappeared down the hallway. “I think we should let him be for awhile. He won’t be able to leave the ship. Let him calm down and process what we have told him thus far.”

 

**

 

The Chiss nearly knocked her over as he tore out of the room, chattering at Baz and Oni. She didn’t have the slightest clue what he was saying, but it was very clear he was unhappy. He stepped around her and left the med bay.

Baz tried to go after him, but Oni stopped him, shaking her head. He sighed, frowning after the man. “That went even worse than I was expecting.”

She glanced to Cerys and Cohren down the hallway. He sat with his head in his hands, looking defeated. Cerys had a hand on his back, comforting him the little she could.

“Did you tell him?” She asked them.

Oni nodded. “Yes. As you can see, it didn’t go well. I think he just needs some time to cool off.”

Baz frowned. “I’m concerned. He’s in a tough position; this is a lot to take in.” He sighed and looked at Pip. “I hate to ask this of you, but he trusts you more than anyone else here, I think. Can you just… check on him? I don’t think it’s wise to let him alone too much.”

How could she say no? Cohren was so overwhelmed with everything he was nearly catatonic, Iz was passed out cold, Cerys was running between checking on Iz and checking on Cohren… So she went.

She found him leaning against the wall toward the end of an overlook, watching ships come and go in the docking area. His arms were crossed, his eyes focused on the activity below.

She decided it might be best to not say anything. Instead, she went and stood next to him, leaning against the wall as well. She noticed, just barely, that he was breathing oddly. Short, tight breaths.

After a few quiet moments, he said something she couldn’t understand. And then, “Pipista.”

She wondered if it was worth responding. He wouldn’t understand anything she said. “You must still be hungry. Food?”

“Mhm. Food.” He sniffed a little, trying to cover what nearly sounded like a wheeze.

She frowned. He must be under a great deal of stress. He was trying to hide what she suspected was a panic attack.

She tugged his shirt sleeve, motioning toward the exit, “Come.” She paused. “Please?”

He seemed to understand, and followed after her.

She led him through a few hallways to her quarters. He hesitated when she opened the door, but she grabbed his sleeve again and pulled him in, directing him to a chair.

It was a relatively large quarters compared to what the rest of the crew got. She suspected that Armitage may have pulled a few strings to get her a nicer room. There was a main room, with two chairs and a small sofa, and a little kitchenette. Off to the back there was a small bedroom and bathroom.

She went to the kitchenette and quickly made two mugs of tea, giving one to him. Warm water always helped her when she started getting nervous.

He looked at the mug for a moment. “Thank you.”

She sat across from him on the sofa, bringing her feet up on the sofa and crossing her legs. She sipped on her tea. What was she supposed to do with him?

Oni and Baz had mentioned he confirmed his name – he was Thrass. She wondered if she could get him to say it.

She pointed to herself, “My name is Pipista.” She pointed to him, “Your name is…?”

He frowned for a moment, then spoke, very slowly, “My name is… Mitth’ras’safis.” The Basic words were clearly very foreign on his tongue.

She smiled, thrilled with the inch of progress. “Mitthrasafis?”

He rubbed his face, sighing. “Thrass.”

Another inch. Maybe only given to her out of annoyance, but she’d take it.

“Thrass.” She nodded, miming more hand movements, “You… call me Pip.”

“Pip?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

He was quiet for a few moments, then pointed to the mug.

“Tea?”

He nodded, finally taking a drink from the mug. “Tea. Thank you.”

He seemed grateful for the distraction, pointing at various things around her quarters for translations. If nothing else, he would have a great vocabulary of furniture. Table, chair, sofa, clock, floor, ceiling, wall, rug, on and on. She also managed to sneak in a few verbs he seemed to understand, like sit, drink, stand, walk…

He walked around her quarters, pointing to various things and asking what they were. She’d always had a fondness for kitschy things, and wondered if it was really any use for him to learn words like “figurine” and “pushie”.

He paused at a photo on her wall – something she’d taken from her family’s home on Nohma. A photo of her entire family together.

He pointed to it.

“Photograph,” she said.

He shook his head, “No.” He motioned to the figures on it.

“Oh.” She went to his side. “My family.”

He squinted at it, “Pip?”

She pointed to the tiny, dark haired baby being held by her mother. “Me.”

“Hm.”

She pointed to the woman holding her, “My mother.” And the man next to her, “My father.” Then to the rambunctious looking little boy in the very front. “Itzuazua. My brother.”

“Mm. Brother.” He blinked at the photo a few times, and then motioned to the others. She went through all their names. She got the impression he was cataloging everything she said, nodding carefully as she listed off their names.

“Itzuazua,” He said, pointing to the floor.

“Here? Yes, he is here.”

He motioned to the photo again, “Family… here?”

It was an unexpected turn to the conversation, and not one she was ready to welcome. She really doesn’t want to teach him words like “dead” in reference to her whole family. She shook her head quickly, “No.”

He looked at her for a few moments. She expected pity, but his expression didn’t read anything. He was just studying her.

She busied herself refilling her tea, leaving him looking at the photo. He muttered something in his language.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Hux/Oni playlist is up!](https://virgilvirgilvirgil.tumblr.com/post/165409924367/harkbacker-oni-x-hux)
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you to everyone who's liked & commented, I appreciate you taking the time to read!!!


	7. Chapter 7

The little blonde girl was fast asleep in Cerys’ arms. She gave him a weak smile. “Don’t worry, Cohren. You have enough on your mind right now. I can take care of her.”

He nodded a little. “Thank you. Really.” It was causing him immense amount of guilt, but he felt numb to everything. This was all too much. The doctor had been in Sev’s room for six hours now, and he’d gotten no news. “I need to go find your father, I want to know what his plans are with Merik.”

Cerys shook her head, “Cohren, you need to get some sleep. My father is working on a plan, I’m certain he’ll have an update for you as soon as he has something ready. Right now you need sleep. And we need you rested and mentally present. Remember what the doctor said? You’re in charge of Sev’s well being while he’s out. You need to be able to make good decisions. Take a few of the sleep aid he gave you and go get some rest.”

She was right, and he knew it. It just felt like he might miss something if he fell asleep. Everything had gone bad so quickly, what was to say it couldn’t go worse before they even had a chance to wake him?

Cerys put a hand on his arm. “Really… Cohren. Go get some sleep. I’ll be here, if anything happens I’ll make sure they wake you right away. And I’ll speak with my father to make sure he gives you an update on his plans as soon as you’re awake.”

He didn’t know how to explain it to her, but the thought of sleep terrified him more than anything. Being trapped in a state of inaction while so much was happening around him… he didn’t know if he could bear such a thing.

Cerys gave a small smile, looking away from him. “Iz… good to see you’re awake.”

The man had just stumbled from one of the patient rooms, where Baz had placed him. He still looked half asleep, rubbing his face. “Yeah… yeah. How’s Sev? What happened while I was out?”

Cerys looked to him – this was his mess to explain.

“I haven’t had an update in about six hours, but the doctor says he’ll live.”

He nodded groggily. “Good… good. Of course he will. Is Doctor Arim is taking care of him?”

“Yeah, he’s been in the room with Sev this whole time. The last update I got he said they had him in a bacta tank.”

“That’s good. Let me clean up really quickly and I’ll check in with Arim. Cohren, you should get some sleep. You look exhausted.”

It was such an ironic statement coming from Iz, who looked like he was still half asleep. Unless maybe Cohren looked worse than Iz did.

Iz shook his head. “Really, go sleep for a few hours. I’ll make sure everything’s fine.”

It was the smallest bit of relief. Cohren knew he could trust Iz. He wouldn’t let anything happen to Sev while he was out.

 

**

 

Armitage looked completely grateful when Sebbie passed him a glass full of whiskey. He rubbed his face, “I suppose it sort of slipped my mind to tell you Sebbie is a member of my crew.” There were dark rings under his eyes. He clearly hadn’t slept a wink since they’d returned from the disastrous mission, and probably hadn't slept the night before after whatever happened between he and Oni. Baz wondered how Sebbie managed to get him to join them – Hux was still avoiding Oni. He wouldn’t even look at her.

“I’m the only one who knew this asshole was alive for nearly a decade and he still forgets about me?” Sebbie shook his head with a little smirk.

Hux tipped his glass to him, “You are, as always, a better friend than I.”

“Wait… so you knew he was in hiding all this time?”

Sebbie nodded, “Yeah.”

“I needed some connection to the outside world; someone I knew I could completely trust.” Hux shrugged, “Sebbie was the obvious choice.”

“So… Were both of you completely floored by the fact that he has a daughter?” Sebbie asked.

Baz laughed. “We weren’t expecting it, to say the very least.”

“I didn’t even know about the girl until he showed back up to the land of the living,” Sebbie said. “It’s not as though we communicated regularly. It was very one-sided while he was in hiding, only messages from me going to him. Needless to say, I was completely shocked when he appeared with a daughter ten years later.”

 “She is, however,” Oni tilted her glass, “Completely fantastic from everything I’ve seen. Armitage, you did a fantastic job raising her.”

Hux shook his head, still refusing to look at Oni. “No… I didn’t really raise her. The hard part was already done when she came into my life. All I had to do was put a roof over her head and make her do chores from time to time.”

“Oh, this is a lie though.” Oni tapped the table, “This is a complete lie. She has your mannerisms, Armitage. She _acts_ like you. You have had more of an influence on her than you care to admit.”

“If she does that, it is on her own accord. I had nothing to do with it.”

“Ah, and while we’re on the topic of how great she is,” Sebbie added quickly, “Let’s take a moment to compliment her taste in men as well. Iz is utterly fantastic, I’m so happy to have that kid on my med team. It’s only thanks to him that I’m able to sneak away a couple hours to meet up with you all.”

“He does seem like a very nice young man,” Oni said, smiling. “You can tell they are very happy together.”

Hux scratched his neck, “Yes, that was… an adjustment. I wasn’t entirely fond of the idea of him at first, but he does make her very happy. And he has proven himself, over and over again, to be a very good man.”

“I’ve been thinking of starting a betting pool: How long until Armitage Hux is a grandfather?” Sebbie laughed. “I hate the phrase madly in love, but those two exemplify it. It’s only a matter of time, Hux, and you know it.”

Hux just huffed in response, and took another drink.

“Ah… what do you think? Four years?” Baz mused, teasing Hux.

“No, no, the girl is career focused,” Oni waved his guess away. “I say seven years.”

“I can tell you one thing,” Sebbie was biting back a laugh, “If it were up to Iz, Hux would be a grandfather tomorrow. He loves kids. I’ve talked to him about it a few times; he comes from a big family and wants to make his own.”

Hux just rubbed his face.

Baz nodded to him, “So what about you, Sebbie? What have you been up to the past years, other than sneaking messages to Hux?”

“Ah… well, let’s see… I ended up leaving the Order about five years after meeting you guys. Obviously,” He nodded to Hux, “It was on good terms. I just hit a wall with it, so to speak. I needed to get out and go do something else. You know, you can only patch so many blaster wounds and whatnot before you start to feel a little crazy. So I went back to school, got a full doctorate. Anyhow, that took about three years, then I got into a private practice and spent a good deal of time traveling, working on special cases. Ended up doing a great deal of writing and documenting on a lot of the unique cases I worked. And then this organization came on my radar… that would have been about three years ago. It seemed like a good route for me… I missed the camaraderie of being part of the Order, but this allows me to still do a great deal of traveling and studying and documenting. So I came back here, and then Hux turned up about a year later… And here we all are now.” He toasted, “Living life by going in circles.” He laughed. “Now what about you two? What have you been up to?”

Oni hummed. “I spent some time… adjusting, I guess is the word.”

“I imagine that’s the exact word,” Sebbie said. “You had a huge lifestyle change very suddenly.”

She nodded, “Yes, it was a shock. A bigger shock than I was expecting. So I spent a little time on Nivo, but that didn’t go… as well as any of us had hoped.”

Baz wanted to laugh. “Nivo couldn’t handle Oni.”

“I think I went a little stir crazy.”

Stir crazy was understatement of the year. Oni’s short-lived stint on Nivo had ended with security forces coming to their home and demanding to know who was slicing into top secret government files. He was mildly impressed that they’d managed to identify Oni as the culprit, until she calmly explained that she’d left a message for them – a literal text note left within their systems with her full name attached to it – because they really needed to speak with her about tightening their security.

She left for Csilla with their father a few weeks later. Nobody quite knew how to handle her.

Oni shook her head. “Anyhow, I ended up starting TizoTech a few years later. I spend most of my time on our corporate ships, which suits my lifestyle much better. And I can very easily keep my mind busy with the business.”

He always got a kick out of his sister thinking of her business as something to simply “keep her mind busy”. TizoTech was one of the largest, most renowned security and defense consulting companies in the galaxy. Every major governmental organization utilized his sister’s company.

 “What about you, Baz?” Sebbie nodded at him.

“I got involved in politics on Nivo. It was something I was always interested in, and with my mother’s family name I did stand a little advantage…”

Hux looked at him with a raised eyebrow, “If you don’t mind me asking… how receptive were Nivitians to having you as a representative?”

Baz smiled a little. “Well… Nivo is a very homogeneous planet, but the younger generation -- and to be fair, even some members of my mother’s generation -- are starting to come around. There was definitely an expectation that I would have to prove myself, but I think I managed that fairly well when I was starting out. There is still a great deal of objection, but it gets better little by little. These changes happen slowly. Of course it helped…” He paused when his stomach lurched. This wasn’t something he wanted to bring up – ever really. It was still so painful to even think about, much more to talk about. But… he had a very strong feeling it was a conversation that needed to take place, here at this table, with Hux and his sister present. “It helped to have Theol around. That was… my husband. He passed in a flight accident about three years ago. He was Chiss as well.”

Hux’s face confirmed his suspicion – he’d gone through something similar. It was really the only reason Baz brought it up.

“I’m sorry to hear that Baz… I had no idea. He was from Csilla?”

“Yes… after Nivo, my sister moved to Csilla for some time. I accompanied her on the move and met him there. Human/Chiss hybrids are relatively rare, so they insisted they would only allow her to move to the planet if we complied with an exam from their top medical team. Theol was one of the doctors.”

“I knew something was different with him,” His sister gave him a sympathetic smile. “I did not expect Baz to continue visiting me after the move, but he kept coming back every few months. He never told any of us what was going on, until about a year later when Theol accompanied him back to Nivo.” She poked his arm, “He was a very good man, I think it is particularly difficult thing for one raised in Chiss culture to leave their home. It spoke volumes about him that he left his people for you.”

At the time, he realized that the move was something very significant to Theol. He hadn’t quite fully realized what it meant though, until he had a rather meaningful exchange with his father months afterward.  He’d waited until the two of them were alone, and started off rather clumsily:

_“So… when did you decide to marry my mother?”_

_“It was about 23 years ago, I believe.”_

_“Yes, yes, but… when did you make that decision? What made you decide?”_

_“I didn’t. She asked.”_

_“Oh… Is it… Not really a thing with Chiss? Marriage?”_

_His father gave him that narrow-eyed, analytical look. “You’re speaking in reference to Theol?”_

_“I’m… considering the option.”_

_“The concept is very foreign to Chiss culture. Humans have a unique sense of companionship; Chiss generally don’t see a need for romantic companionship outside of reproduction.”_

_“I see… so… hypothetically, if I were to ask… he would likely be very confused?”_

_“Well he does understand the mechanics of the concept. He’s aware of the relationship between your mother and I.”_

_“But the… I guess the “deeper meaning” of the whole thing would be lost on him?”_

_“Deeper meaning?”_

_“Yes the whole… committing yourself entirely to one person for the rest of your lives, sharing everything… that sort of thing.”_

_His father frowned in a way that only Thrawn could frown. “I think that maybe there is a deeper meaning that was lost on you. He has already made that commitment to you. He did it when he agreed to leave his people to be with you.”_

Baz distinctly remembered his heart feeling like it was breaking when he realized what his father was telling him.

_“You see, he has already made that decision. That was his method of communicating his commitment. If a legal marriage is what you require to make that same commitment, then by all means you should ask.”_

He had asked, just not in the way he had originally intended. “Will you marry me?” Seemed completely insulting with that context in mind. Instead he asked Theol to _let_ Baz marry him.

It worked.

He smiled a little. “He was very good to me. He was good for Nivo. To have a non-human working in a position that is entirely a dedicated to helping people… It was very good for the people of my home.”

Hux cleared his throat, refilling Baz’s glass. “I… went through a very similar loss a few years back.”

He nodded, “Is that who Mila is?”

Hux hesitated at the name. “Y… Yes. How do you know her name?”

“Someone casually mentioned her. I pieced it together.”

He nodded. “She saved me from the First Order, then from the Republic. And she’s the only reason Cerys is a part of my life now. It was… difficult losing her. For both Cerys and myself.”

Baz ran his fingers over his lips, watching Hux closely. “It doesn’t get any easier, does it?”

Hux sighed, shaking his head. “I wish I could say it does. It just… changes.”

“It’s like you just pack enough other stuff around the void that you can keep yourself distracted.”

Hux nodded. “The day that Mila died this organization consisted of three ships and about 200 people. Now we have about 26 ships and over 5,000 personnel. You find ways to keep busy. Cerys has been a big help. I don’t know what I would have done without her.”

“Theol and I had just started looking into options… we wanted to have a child.” He shook his head, “I’m very happy we hadn’t finalized anything. I don’t know what I would have done if there had been a child in the picture.”

Under the table, his sister knocked his leg gently with the toe of her boot. “We would have helped you. You know that.”

“Of course. It’s just… different.”

“Particularly with a young one…” Hux shook his head, “I don’t even know how I would have managed had Mila passed when Cerys was 11 or 12. Thankfully she was nearly an adult when it happened. I can’t imagine trying to care for a young one after having lost your partner.”

Baz smiled a little. “This conversation has turned very dark. Let’s speak of something more pleasant.”

“Has Sebbie had a chance to meet with the clone?” Hux smirked a little.

Oni frowned. “He said something _pleasant_.”

“You found a clone? Is that what you were after?” He paused. “Oh god, don’t tell me it’s your father.”

Baz laughed. “No, come to find out he is a clone of my father’s brother.”

“Oh… interesting.”

“He’s a little…”

“Subborn.” Oni said flatly.

“Well you would be too, wouldn’t you?” Baz shooed the comment away. “The poor guy wakes up from a cloning pod a few days ago, locked in an underground facility with no food and no way out, he’s injured, and he can barely remember anything from his “life beforehand”. He’s frightened and very confused. Of course he’s a little moody.”

“Our father,” Oni explained, “seems to have only given him partial memories. He remembers general things about his predecessor’s life, like his name and his brother and his parents, but specific details are blurry at best.”

“Does he even know he’s a clone?”

“Well, we told him, but he wasn’t very receptive to the idea.”

“I suppose I don’t blame the poor guy.” Sebbie huffed. “You guys should bring him to me when my next shift starts. It’s rare to come across clones any more, but I read a good deal about medical care for them when I was younger.”

“He’s not going to be an easy patient,” Baz warned. “He doesn’t speak any Basic, though I can translate for him. And he’s not fond of being touched, he says his skin is very sensitive.”

“So I can’t speak to him and I can’t touch him…”

“Yes, and he doesn’t believe he’s a clone and he’s very upset with both Oni and I right now.” Baz laughed at the situation. “I’d be happy to bring him by, but good luck examining him; he’s going to be a challenge.”

“Genuinely, I am a little fascinated. Cloning isn’t commonplace any more, it’s pretty rare to get to study one. Really, I’d be happy to take a look at him.”

 

 

 

He and Sebbie walked back to their quarters together, still laughing. He was glad the mood lifted, at least for them. Oni hadn’t quite been able to recover from Hux’s admission. He’d coaxed the story out of the man for just that reason – so his sister could understand why he’d been behaving so strangely around her.

“But really, do bring this… _uncle_ of yours to come see me tomorrow.”

“It is odd, to think of him as an uncle. He’s got to be around the same age as Hux’s daughter.”

Sebbie cracked a laugh, “I think it’s a good thing we moved away from cloning. Too many complicated issues like this.”

“Mm… I feel so bad for the guy. It’s weird for us to look at him and think he’s our uncle, but it must seem downright crazy for him to look at us and think we’re the children of his younger brother. No wonder he doesn’t believe us.”

 

Sebbie laughed. “I’m really happy I ran into again, Baz, even if the situation isn’t ideal. It’s good to speak with you again.”

Baz stopped in front of his door, “I agree, it is fantastic to see you as well. I’m glad you’re doing so well.”

He half shrugged, then motioned to the door, “You even let me walk you home this time!”

Baz laughed, remembering back to Sebbie insisting on walking him back to his ship when they first met. He told him that a lot of Order members weren’t entirely keen on non-humans, and that he was concerned with Baz’s safety. It was a kind thought that still stuck with him to this day, even though he had turned the offer down. He wasn’t used to having people watch out for him.

“Oh… I didn’t offend you back then, did I?”

“Well, you did deflate my ego a little, but I was trying pretty hard.”

Baz blinked at him, “What?”

Sebbie laughed, “Oh, you’re one of those clueless types… I was hitting on you.”

“Oh.” This had never occurred to him as a possibility. He recounted their old interactions in his mind. How had he never noticed?

“Don’t pick up on these things very well, do you?”

“Oni tells me I’m a little oblivious to such things… Really? You were?”

He seemed genuinely amused. “Yeah… And for the record, I am now as well.”

“Oh.”

He shook his head, “With no disrespect meant to what you’ve lost, of course. I just…”

Baz felt like he couldn’t form a sentence. “No, no, of course not… I would never think… I just… Um…”

Sebastian looked at him with the most earnest expression.

“I haven’t really… Since I lost him…”

He shook his head, “I think you’re misunderstanding me. I’m not expecting anything.”

He felt a sort of tragic relief in that. He understood exactly why Hux was avoiding Oni. His heart was still with the person he’d lost.

Sebbie gave a kind, lopsided smile. “I tried and failed years ago, I’d be remiss if I didn’t at least give it a second shot.”

He looked at the man, feeling very conflicted. It’d been three years. Maybe it was okay? Just this one little, tiny thing…

He leaned in and kissed him. That was all.

When he pulled back, Sebbie had a wide smile on his face. He covered it quickly, looking away from him. “So… have a good evening?”

He still felt confused. And maybe a little happy. “Yeah… I think… I’m sorry…”

His eyebrows raised a little. “Oh. No, I wasn’t implying…” He trailed off mid sentence, his eyes watching something down the hallway. Iz was passing by, dragging his feet, looking completely wiped out.

Sebbie’s attention went to him immediately – he went to the man’s side. “Iz… what are you doing?”

Iz hadn’t noticed either of them until Sebbie was literally right next to them. He looked like he might fall asleep standing there. “They kicked me out.”

Sebbie frowned a little. “Yeah, of course they did. Look at you, you look like you’re about to fall over. You’re not managing your energy levels well. You need to get some sleep.”

“I need to help Sev…”

“Which you can’t do if you’re passed out cold. Seriously, you’re the best medic on my team. I need you functioning at 100%. Go to your quarters, go get some sleep. I’m taking you off his case for the next 10 hours.”

_“What?”_

“You’re not even allowed back in the med bay for 10 hours. Go get some sleep. We’ll take care of things until you’re ready to go again.”

Iz looked devastated. “But…”

“But nothing. If you argue I’m taking you off the case completely. You’re showing terrible judgment.”

Iz looked at him for a few moments, then turned sharply and tried to storm away to his quarters. It didn’t really work, he was far too tired for storming around.

Sebbie watched after him, a frown on his face. He shook his head. “I can’t really blame him, I don’t know that I’d be doing much different in his situation.” He sighed and looked back to Baz. “I hate being the bad guy, but he’s no good to his friend like that.”

Baz nodded a little. “I think you probably did the right thing.”

Sebbie hesitated a little. “I need to get a little rest, but I’ll be back in the med bay in five or six hours. Bring the clone whenever you’re able to.” He smiled a little. “It was really good to see you again, Baz.”

 

**

 

Hux barely got his jacket off before the door to his quarters opened and Oni stepped inside.

“You _still_ haven’t learned to knock?”

She paused just inside the door and looked at him. How was it that her eyes always said so much? She looked so terribly sad. It was the last thing he wanted. “Hux… I’m sorry. I had no idea…”

He never should have said anything about Mila. When Baz had mentioned the loss of his husband, he for some reason thought it would be a good idea to mention. He hadn’t expected Baz would be familiar with her name. He wondered who slipped up and mentioned her around him. Most likely Cerys – she still liked to reminisce about Mila from time to time. He couldn't blame her for that.

The whole thing had been a terrible idea from the start. He should have just let Baz finish his story and never said a word.

He shook his head. “For obvious reasons I don’t really enjoy discussing…”

“I know. I know you don’t. I just...” Her eyes were terribly huge. She shook her head. “Hux, I’ve spent the past day wondering what I did that was so wrong you couldn’t make eye contact with me. I just wish you would have said something.”

“Yes, well…” He didn’t know what he meant to say.

“I have spent years watching my brother struggle through this. I cannot understand your pain through my own, but I do know what it looks like. Baz is very open about these things. I never would have…” Her long lashes fluttered over her eyes and his stomach lurched. He hated tears. “Armitage, I never would have been so aggressive had I known. I’m so sorry I put you in such a position…”

“It’s not… It’s not your fault, Oni. I should have stopped it before it… escalated. I was just weak.”

“Weak? How is that weak? How…” She shook her head again, her frizzy hair bouncing. “You haven’t been with anyone since her, have you? Oh dear… Hux that is not _weak_ …”

He huffed. “We will have to agree to disagree about that.”

“You said she helped you go into hiding? Cerys must have known her as well?”

“Yes. Yes, they were… close. Oni, I’d rather not discuss…”

“What happened?”

He wanted to snap at her, to get her to go away, but for some reason the question took the air from him. He couldn’t possibly tell her. It wasn’t really any of her business anyway. She’d be gone in a few days, back to her busy life, and he’d return to his, and they’d both forget this ever happened. What good could even come of him explaining such a thing?

“Hux?” She drew is attention back to her. “You don’t have to tell me, but it might… it might help you to speak about it.”

He blinked a few times, looking away from her. “You want to know what happened to her? Fine. Fine. She was shot. By someone with very bad aim. They were after me.”

The room fell uncomfortably quiet. He dared to glance back to her. He shouldn’t have, her eyes were huge, her fingers playing over her lips. “Hux… I had no idea. I’m so sorry.” She stepped closer to him and he took a step back, away from her. He couldn't be close to her.

“Oni, you don’t understand. I _can’t_ …”

“I think you’ve misinterpreted my intentions. If you’re not ready for something like what happened between us then I absolutely will not push. I never meant to cause you this sort of distress.”

“No, Oni, you really don’t understand…”

“Well then please explain what it is you think I don’t understand. I’m trying to understand. I’m trying to help you.”

He tried to remember the last time he felt this utterly terrified, and realized it actually wasn’t long ago. It was just a few nights prior, when he fled her room trying to erase their encounter from his mind. He rubbed his face. This was not easy. “I can’t remember the last time I slept a full night. The nights that I’m not up thinking about Mila, I’m up thinking about my daughter. I keep wondering if… If she’d be better off without me here.” He shook his head. “I’ve proven to be nothing other than a liability for the people I’m around.”

He really needed to not look at her face. Her eyes said too much. She was quiet for a few moments. “I think we both need to be realistic about what happened between us. I wasn’t attempting to rekindle what we had years ago. It was just… a foolish thing that happened. Don’t give it more importance than that.”

He looked back at her for a few moments. “Do you really believe that?”

She frowned and broke eye contact. “Hux… what am I supposed to tell you? I spent about five years after you left thinking… thinking we might still be able to make something work. And then I got busy. And you got busy. It got pushed to the back of my mind to make space for more immediate issues, and I think I sort of… forgot over the years. When your supposed death started making headlines, I was reminded… not that I still loved you, but that I had once loved you, and that a piece of me always would. I was surprised enough when we found you alive, but even more surprised to find you’d changed…” She paused for a terrifying moment. “You'd changed for the better.”

Oni always had a unique view of the world around her, but Hux couldn’t imagine how he could be better now. He was broken. Failed.

She shook her head. “I am sorry, Hux. I never should have… This is my fault for being too attached to the past. And for not seeing what is quite clear to me now – you have been hurt. You need someone who you feel you can speak to more than you need what I gave you.”

He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t need someone to listen to him. He just needed to make up his mind what the best course of action was and take it. And he needed to find a way to get Merik back safely.  That was priority. Not this nonsense.

“If you would like to talk, I would be happy to listen to you. I know I may not be the most ideal person but… but it is better than being alone, right? And I have a little experience dealing with these things, after what happened to my brother.”

He didn’t like this idea. No – that was an understatement. He hated it. “I don’t need to… talk this out. I’m dealing with it on my own.”

She gave him a look of such intense pity he wanted to walk out of the room.

He looked away from her again. “What I do need is someone to help me flesh out a good plan to get Merik back. You might… might be the most ideal person for that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [My playlist for writing Baz!](https://virgilvirgilvirgil.tumblr.com/post/165435937362/harkbacker-baz) I didn't notice until I was done, but his playlist started picking up a little bit of a folk music influence, sort of like his mother's!


	8. Chapter 8

The doctor insisted the medication would put him to sleep for 7 full hours, but Cohren only slept 5 hours. The effects of the medication were still heavy when he initially woke, but Doctor Arim still came to him to let him know that Sev was out of the bacta tank and Cohren was welcome to see him.

Iz was gone, but Cerys was there. She stayed with him as they went into the room.

He hated the whole thing. It was dark and clinical and full of too many beeping machines. Sev was laid out on a patient’s bed. Admittedly, Iz and the bacta had worked miracles – his face was barely bruised, and there were no visible cuts or breaks in his skin. He looked strangely normal, like he might not be asleep. That was, aside from the hair. They had to shave his head in order to assess his head injuries properly. No doubt, that would be a point of contention when Sev woke.

Arim made a point to caution him: They weren’t out of the forest yet. His recovery had gone exceedingly well so far, but there was no saying what remaining issues might be present until Sev woke. When Cohren asked what he might expect, the doctor’s best response was a shrug.

“It could be any of a slew of issues. Confusion, motor issues, amnesia, trouble speaking… It’s too early to tell.” He gave him a reassuring look. “We’ll address anything that comes up as soon as we can give him a proper assessment. We have a great team here; we’ll do everything we can for him.”

Cohren felt a great deal of relief. As long as Sev was still breathing, he could deal with anything else that came. He fell asleep in the guest chair, next to Sev’s bed.

 

 

He woke to the sound of Iz’s voice.

“How are you feeling?”

“Ugh… My head fucking _hurts_ …”

He forced his eyes open, blinking quickly to clear his vision. Sev was awake?

He was pushing himself upright in the bed – probably something he shouldn’t be doing yet – rubbing his head. A pathetic noise came out of his mouth. “What the _fuck_ happened to my hair?”

Iz smirked a little, “We had to shave it to take care of your injuries…” He caught Cohren’s eye and made a subtle motion for him to stay seated while Sev had a minor meltdown over his hair.

“What the hell, man? Why would you…”

“You were hurt pretty badly. Do you remember what happened?”

“Eh… no. What happened?”

Iz shook his head. “I don’t know all the details, but it sounds like a Force user attacked you. From what I’ve been told, it sounds like she attacked you with Force lightning. And knocked your head pretty hard as well.”

He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Eek… really?” He smirked a little. “What’d I do to piss her off?”

“Nothing in particular. You were on a mission with some friends of ours.”

He squinted at him. “A mission?”

“Yeah. You don’t remember any of it?”

“Friends?”

“Er… yeah. Friends.”

“Yeah… none of that sounds right to me. You look different. What’d you do to yourself?”

Iz cast him a slightly concerned look and Sev turned, seeming to just finally notice he was sitting in the room.

“Who the hell are you?”

He couldn’t think of the last time he was so crushed by a question. He looked at Iz.

Thankfully, Iz had maintained his ability to talk much better than Cohren had. “Sev… that’s Cohren. You don’t remember him?”

Sev looked at him in a critical manner. “No.” He slid his legs off the edge of the bed, attempting to get to his feet. “So where are we, Iz? Did you take the white coat from one of the doctors?” He laughed at the thought.

Cohren stood quickly and pushed him back into the bed gently. “You shouldn’t stand yet…”

Sev was shockingly weak and fell back onto the bed, swatting at Cohren. “Hey. Fuck you. Don’t touch me.”

Something about it felt oddly inappropriate. He stepped back quickly, drawing his hand away.

Iz put a hand on his shoulder, pushing him back into bed. “Cohren’s right, you shouldn’t be up. Stay in bed for awhile. You were pretty severely injured.”

Sev sneered, glaring at Cohren. “Don’t touch me.” He paused, looking him over. “Damn you’re tall.”

“Cohren,” Iz jerked his head toward the door. “I need to talk with you in the hallway.”

His head spun as he followed Iz outside. He fell into a seat in the hallway. “He doesn’t remember me?”

Iz shook his head. “That’s the way it’s looking for now.” He held up his hands to caution him. “I don’t think this is worth stressing yourself with much yet. We expected some sort of complications like this. It could have been _much_ worse than this. Memory loss is often temporary; it’s really likely that he’ll start regaining it. I think we just need to be patient.”

He nodded blankly. “Right… Right. I mean... he’s alive. That’s what matters.”

“Yes, you’re right. Now… I think it will be good for you to be around a little bit. I’ll talk with Doctor Arim about it, but his strongest memories are likely connected to you so I think your occasional presence may help. But I think we also need to be careful. I don’t want to overwhelm him – right now he probably thinks he’s still on Durune. Everything’s changed so much since his life then. I don’t think it’s wise to break the nature of your relationship to him just yet. Let’s give it a day or so and see how he’s doing.”

He nodded. “Understood.”

“I need to spend some time with him to get a better idea of what’s missing from his memory.” Iz gave him a long look. “Cohren. Don’t worry so much. He’s my best friend. I’m going to make sure he’s okay.”

 

 

Iz made him leave them for a few hours while he worked. He returned with Cerys, who I insisted on coming along to thank Sev.  He almost wanted to get a holo recording of the exchange; he never thought he’d see the day that Cerys thanked Sev for anything. Pip mentioned she wanted to see him, but she was busy keeping an eye on the Chiss at the moment; he was apparently turning out to be remarkably high maintenance and had been glued to a datapad with Basic language-learning programs for the past few days – he insisted she say to help him learn.

When he returned Sev was still sitting in his bed, talking to Iz, who sat next to him on a stool. Iz smiled at them, “Hey guys.”

Sev narrowed his eyes, watching them suspiciously.

“Sev, this is Cerys.”

He quirked an eyebrow. “This is your girl?”

Iz laughed a little, “Yeah, Cerys and I have been together for 4 years now.”

“Damn Iz…”

Cerys, who had entered the room looking like she was fully prepped to give a poetic thank you, looked repulsed. She glanced to him – she was worried, probably that Sev may have inadvertently hurt his feelings. It didn’t bother him. He knew Sev well enough to know exactly what was going on – Cerys wasn’t the only one in the room he was looking at. Sev just found people attractive, in general.

She crossed her arms. “Sev. It’s good to see you’re awake. I wanted to come check on you… I needed to thank you. You’re in this condition because you were helping my father and I.” A flash of sincerity crossed her face. “Thank you. Really.”

He smirked at Iz. “I saved your girl’s life? Doesn’t that mean you owe me?”

“Yeah. I do.” The way Iz said it was so sincere it even caught Sev off guard.

“Hm.” He turned back to Cerys. “Well, I’m sure it’s fine or whatever. I can’t even remember what happened.”

Before they left, Cohren snuck a spare pair of sunglasses onto the table for him. The ones he wore on the mission had been destroyed in the fight. He’d always claimed they helped with the frequency of his headaches, and the last thing he needed while he was trying to recover was a paralyzing headache.

 

 

 

Pip was finally able to break away a few hours later. Not entirely though -- the Chiss (“Thrass” he was introduced as) insisted on coming along. Much to Cohren’s surprise, the man was already picking up on a good amount of Basic words and simple phrases, such as how to introduce himself.

Sev gave him an incredulous look when he entered the room again, then noticed Pip. He cracked a smile like he was trying to keep from laughing.

Pip looked like she was about to cry. “Sev… how are you feeling?”

“Er… good. I guess. You’re adorable, do I know you?”

Iz laughed a little. “Sev, this is my sister, Pip. I told you about her earlier.”

“What? Really? She’s so cute though!” He patted her on the head from the edge of the bed. “How the hell are you two related?”

Pip scrambled up onto his bed and hugged him, “I’m so happy you’re okay, I was really worried about you. I’m sure your memory will come back with time…”

“Er… yeah.  Who’s the blue guy?”

“That’s Thrass, we were trying to help him when you were injured.”

Thrass seemed to realize they were talking about him – he said something to Pip.

Pip looked at him for a few moments, then shook her head. “I think he wants to apologize to you for what’s happened, but I really have no idea what he’s saying. I’m sort of learning his language while he learns Basic.”

Sev nodded slowly, looking at the Chiss. “That was actually a pretty good guess.” He tapped his temple. “I got you, blue guy. I don’t even know what happened, so I guess it’s not really a problem.”

Thrass looked at him, then at Pip. He chattered something.

“I can make him understand me using the Force.” Sev said, smirking a little at his reaction.

Iz nodded, “I suppose I haven’t had a chance to see him yet; I’ve spent most of my time here with Sev.” He nodded to his sister. “It’s easy for Sev and I to communicate with him.”

“Lucky you…” she frowned.

Thrass said something to Iz. He nodded, “Yeah, I’ve told him about the whole mission. He doesn’t remember any of it, but he knows what I know.”

He looked at Sev and said something long winded to him. Sev looked confused and bored. “Yeah. Whatever. I’m fine. What’s a few years’ worth of memory loss anyway? I can’t imagine much happened, other than meeting these guys.”

Cohren’s chest hurt at the statement. It wasn’t Sev’s fault. He probably couldn’t imagine how much his life had changed in just a few years.

A medic walked by and looked at Sev’s data chart – it was near his meal time, apparently. His upcoming meal was displayed on the screen. He turned to her quietly, “I think that might be wrong. He doesn’t eat meat. Do you have any other options?”

“Oh… that must not be in his notes.” She smiled at him and changed the selection to something different. “I’ll make sure it gets added, thanks for letting us know.”

When he turned back to the others, Sev was glaring at him. “Who exactly are you? You brought these by earlier and you know what I eat…” He gave a sarcastic laugh, pushing his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose, “What, are you like my boyfriend or something?”

He continued to snicker at his own joke. Cohren glanced to Iz, who looked almost like he was in pain. “Sev…”

“Hm?” Sev eyed him for a moment. “What?” He looked back to Cohren, then back to Iz. “Wait… what?”

This shouldn’t have felt so terribly awkward, but for some reason it did.

“What? No… You’re kidding me.”

Pip poked his shoulder. “Sev… you and Cohren…” She glanced to him like she needed permission to continue.

He finished for her. “We’ve been together for over a year.”

His eyebrow quirked. He looked back to Iz. “Really?”

Iz nodded. “Sev, you need to stop it.”

“Noooo… you’re telling me you’re running around with some smoking hot redhead and I’m with this… well-groomed polite... guy?” The words well groomed rolled of his tongue like they meant something terrible.

“Sev… come on.” Iz put a hand on his shoulder to calm him, but Sev shrugged it off.

“I mean… really?”

Cohren couldn’t imagine anything more mortifying at the moment. “Iz… can I speak with you outside?”

They stepped out into the hallway and closed the door – he could hear Pip still chastising Sev inside.

“Iz… you need to stop.”

His friend looked at him, clearly confused.

“Look… Sev is alive. That’s all I really care about. The rest of it can get figured out in time. But… trying to force him back with me… that’s just going to cause problems.”

Iz frowned for a moment, rubbing his mouth. “Of course. You’re right about that. But there’s no reason for him to be rude.”

Cohren looked at the closed door. “Yes, but was he being rude? Or was he just being Sev?”

 

**

 

“I do not like this plan, Hux.” Oni frowned at him.

They had locked themselves in his quarters and gone over ideas for six hours straight. He was exhausted. She looked exhausted. And this mess… it was the best plan they could come up with. He sighed. “For the record, I’m not entirely fond of it either. But it appears to be our most probable option. And we don’t have much more time to consider. I need to respond soon.”

She just frowned in response.

He rubbed his face. His eyelids were getting so heavy. “Look, it’s a given we can’t give them the Chiss.”

“His name is Thrass. And yes, I believe the further he is from this situation the safer we will all be. If they find out he is not Thrawn – which would be relatively simple if they would just look at an old photo of him – they would kill him.” She shook her head. “I cannot allow that to happen.”

“Right. There’s only one other person here who would be an even more valuable trade for them.”

She looked at him for a few long moments, her dark eyes pleading. “I do not feel good about handing you over to them.”

“You’re not really handing me over to them though. You’ll be able to track their ship and take them down.”

“Yes, of course. But that  is not the primary issue is it? I do not trust these people, Hux. What is to say that they won’t…” She trailed off, looking at him with big, dark eyes.

He shook his head. “He won’t kill me. I’m worth far too much alive.”

Her mouth twisted. “You are certain about this?”

“Certain enough that I’m willing to bet my life on it. You’re certain you can track their ship?”

“Yes. I will find a way.” She bowed her head slightly. “Just keep yourself safe until I’m able to track you.”

He nodded slowly. “Thank you. I have a great deal more confidence in this plan since I was able to discuss it with you.”  He stood. “I’m going to make our offer to them. I’ll let you know what they say…”

“Take Baz. He’s very good with these things. Please. It would make me feel better.”

He looked away from her. “Yes, that should be fine.”

 

 

 

Reir, the bastard who was holding Merik captive, frowned at he and Baz through the screen. “An alternative offer? Hux, do you know me? I don’t negotiate.”

Hux was impressed with Baz’s ability to keep a completely expressionless face, and a completely calm demeanor. He reminded him of Thrawn so much it was a little frightening at times. It seemed so odd that he could put on a façade so similar to the man when he hadn’t even met him until he was nearly an adult.

“It may be wise for you to hear our offer before you reject it.” Baz said flatly.

“I’m willing to trade myself in exchange for the individual you have.” He made sure he didn’t even blink when he said it.

A smile flickered across his face. “Really? Well that is a good deal. A very good deal. The Republic would pay very well to have you. Though I could probably get more money from a few privately wealthy individuals who’d love to see your head on a stick.”

Hux didn’t doubt that was true.

“You must think I’m very foolish to trust that this isn’t a trap.”

“We could trap you just as easily in a trade for the clone.” Baz pointed out.

“What’s the catch then? I’ve heard rumors, Hux, that you have a daughter. You have someone you need to be around for.”

Hux frowned. He didn’t want Cerys even remotely close to this situation, not even mentioned by name. “She is an adult, she doesn’t need me around.” He paused.  “Quite frankly, my presence is more of a problem for her than anything.”

He smiled. “Oh, I see, this is like self-sacrifice so your daughter can live freely. That’s almost poetic of Hux. We accept your offer. We’ll send you coordinates for a meet up in two days time.”

“No. Two days is too far out. You don’t need two days and neither do we.” Baz said.

“It will take you that long to get to the location, Hux. Calm yourself. It’s two days or no deal.”

“There’s no reason for such a remote location…”

“Yes, there is.” He said flatly. “I’m suspicious of your offer, Hux. It seems too good to be true. Bring a small ship, only one other person allowed.”

“One? Allow us two.” Baz said. “A medic for your captive – I’m certain he’ll need one – and a pilot.”

“You’d best find a pilot who’s a medic or a medic who’s a pilot. As I said, I do not negotiate. One extra person, that’s it.”

“You would not still be speaking with us if you were entirely inflexible.”

“The only reason I’m still speaking with you is because I’m a kind person.”

Hux wanted to laugh at the suggestion.

“I thought you may be interested in speaking with your comrade.”

Hux cast a glance to Baz. “Yes. If you’re willing to make him available, we’d like to speak with him.”

“Of course.” He stepped away from the screen and Merik, bruised and tired looking, was pushed into view.

The man was well trained; his mother had, of course, raised him well. He stood as straight as he could, maintaining a somewhat dignified look despite the dire situation. “Sir. Baz. It’s good to see you both.”

“We’re coming to retrieve you.”

“I heard. Sir, you shouldn’t trade yourself…”

“I’ll do as I see fit. It isn’t your place to question what I’m willing to trade for your life.” That would keep him quiet on the matter.

He bowed his head slightly. “Of course. How is the team?”

“Everyone made it back.” He didn’t want to mention Sev’s condition. He’d gotten news not long ago that he’d woken up, but Cerys mentioned he was having memory issues. “Your daughter is with your brother. I will let her know you’re alright.”

His expression broke. “Thank you… really. Thank you.”

Hux nodded. “We’re brining you back. You’ll be with her s…”

The transmission cut before he could finish his sentence.

 

 

The group – minus Sev – sat before Hux, watching attentively. He’d never heard them so quiet before. This was important to all of them.

“We’ve negotiated a trade. Before you all start commenting on our decision, I expect that you will listen to our _entire_ pitch.” He looked directly at Cerys as he spoke. They were on such a tight timeline, he didn’t have time to explain this to her beforehand. “We will be trading myself in exchange for the return of Merik.”

The look on Cerys’ face was heartbreaking. He wished they had a little more time.

“We, of course, have an ulterior plan. They’re only allowing one person to accompany me for the trade. I think we can all agree it’s only fair to allow Cohren that position.” He nodded to the blonde. “That is, unless you’d rather stay here with Sev.”

Cohren hesitated. “Yes. Thank you, I appreciate the offer. I would like to go."

Hux nodded. “We saw Merik in a transmission just a few hours ago. He’s in rough condition, but nothing that he shouldn’t need a medic for right away. They’ve insisted on meeting us in a very specific location – surrounded by a dense asteroid field. We won’t be able to get any larger ships close. This ship will wait just outside the field. Oni is going to take a second small ship to track their ship. Iz,” He nodded to the man, “I want you to go with her.”

“Got it.” Iz nodded.

 

 

 

Cerys caught him right after they finished laying out all the plans. She was sincerely worried. “I don’t like this plan.” She crossed her arms.

He didn’t want to point out that Oni felt the same way.

“Cerys… My life has been in Oni’s hands more than once before. I completely trust her.”

“What if something goes wrong?”

“You don’t know Oni well yet. Nothing will go wrong.”

“I don’t understand why it has to be you.” She frowned up at him. “Send Thrass. Oni could just as easily track their ship if Thrass were on it rather than you.”

He looked at his daughter for a long moment. This was absolutely true. He could never speak of it to either of them, but there was a very specific reason it had to be him. He knew Oni would fight harder to retrieve him than she would to retrieve anyone else, with the possible exception of Baz.

Oni, he ventured to guess, probably knew this as well.

“It needs to be me.” He said simply. “I don’t know that we can trust Thrass to cooperate, he’s been very hostile toward Baz and Oni. Further, if they find out by chance that he’s not who they think he is, they will kill him. That's not a risk either Oni or I are willing to take.”

She wasn’t satisfied with this answer, he could tell. “Just… stay safe, okay?” She nodded at him. “You’re coming back to me.”

 

**

  

Pip was sincerely impressed by how quickly Thrass was picking up Basic. Baz told her he’d be able to form simple sentences within a week, but for some reason she was still impressed by the fact that she could finally communicate with him.

He still hadn’t “forgiven” Baz and Oni for what they'd told him. He avoided them at all costs.  Baz made a few attempts to speak with him, but he’d been very blunt about turning and leaving before Baz could get a full sentence out of his mouth. He thanked her profusely for watching over Thrass, which she assumed meant she was expected to continue doing so. Not that she really minded being on Chiss-sitting duty, but she had one friend suffering from significant memory loss and the other suffering from what appeared to be the end of a long, loving relationship. It was impossible to be alone with either of them – Thrass insisted on sticking close to her.

Cohren, understandably, wasn’t comfortable speaking with her while Thrass was hanging around. Sev had far fewer boundaries, so it was a little easier to spend time with him.

“Nothing more has come back to you?” She asked.

“Nah. Same as it was when I woke up. Nothing new.”

“Has Cohren been to see you lately?”

Sev rolled his eyes. “Would you all stop asking me about this guy already? I don’t even know who the hell he is.”

“But… you do know who he is. You may have forgotten, but you do know.”

“No, I don’t. So what, I was screwing around with the guy…”

“Sev. You weren’t just _screwing around_ with him. You two were absolutely in love.”

Thrass, sitting between them, looked at her, confused. “Meaning?”

Screwing around. Of course he hadn’t quite reached that phrase in his studies yet. She held a hand up, “I’m not explaining that one, you don’t need to know it.”

Sev scowled at her. “ _Love?_   I mean… really? Who the fuck do you people think I am?”

“When we met you, you had a bad spice addiction. Cohren helped you get off it. And he’s helped you stay away from it sense. Sev, a few weeks before this happened you told me you were going to spend the rest of your life with him…”

“HA. Yeah, that would never happen.”

“I mean… you were very drunk at the time, but you were being sincere. And I know he feels the same way about you. You should see the way he looks at you when you aren’t paying attention. Cohren is the most reliable, loyal person I know. You couldn’t ask for better partner.”

He threw his hands up, “What the fuck to you people expect me to do? "Love" him? I don’t even know what that means. How do you do that? I don’t even know him, and you guys aren’t just expecting me to like him, you’re expecting me to... to whatever. Love him or something stupid like that.”

“No, I’m not. I just wish you’d give him a chance. He’s having a rough time, and he would do anything for you. Even now, even though you don’t remember him and you don’t love him back, I promise you he would do anything for you.”

“He is literally the exact opposite of anything I would ever like.”

“What do you even mean by that? That he’s trustworthy? That he’s dependable? That he’s faithful?”

“One, I've never really been into... guys. And two, that he’s _boring_.”

“Sev, before all this happened you two were inseparable. I know you don’t believe it, but it’s true. You don’t open up about these things, but there’s something about him that drew you in and kept you there. I don’t know what it is, but I could guess.”

“Hm? What do you think it is that made me fall so madly in _love_ with the guy?” He said in the most mocking tone possible.

“I think it’s that he’s the first person you ever felt you could completely, entirely trust. You’re always suspicious that people have ulterior motives. Like right now, you probably think I’m trying to manipulate you to get back with Cohren so he’s happy. You’re wrong. I’m just trying to make you see some sense in giving him a chance so you can be happy again.”

He chewed on his lip for a moment. “What about Iz? I mean he’s the kind of fool who would do anything for anyone. And I’ve certainly never been in love with him.”

“No, but Iz did leave you, didn’t he? He left you to go explore more, and then he met Cerys. Cohren never did that. And he never would.”

Sev just frowned back at her.

She sighed. “I don’t know, Sev. He’s leaving soon, on this mission to get Merik back from the people who kidnapped him. I thought he might stop in to speak to you about it.”

“Wait… what? He’s going to get the guy back? The one that was kidnapped?”

“Yeah. His brother, Merik. They’re trading Hux for him rather than Thrass, then Oni is going to track their ship down and we’ll get him back.”

_“What?”_

Thrass made a quick hand motion to join the conversation. “Hux? Trade Hux?”

They’d been over and over this situation in Basic – trade was one of the words she’d taught him.

He motioned toward himself. “No Thrass? Trade Hux?”

“Yes, they’re trading Hux rather than you.”

He looked at her unblinkingly for a long moment. “No.” He stood. “No.”

“Yeah. I’m with this guy. No. What the hell are these people thinking? Why didn’t you all let me know what’s going on? Maybe I wanted to go along…”

She tried to calm them both. “Sev… why would you have wanted to go along?”

“To find the bitch that landed me in this bed! They had to shave my fucking hair!”

Thrass chattered something and started for the door. She stopped him by stepping in front of him. He frowned down at her.

“Sev, I don’t think they let you in on it because you’re still recovering.”

“Oh fuck that, I’m just fine! I’ve been walking around for the past few days. The doctor guy says they’re releasing me in a few days!”

“In a few days this whole thing is going to be over.”

Thrass sidestepped her again. “No. Bad trade.”

“So what? The doctors are being over-cautious…” He started to stand from his bed, like he was going to march out of there in his med bay robes.

She stepped in front of Thrass again. “Would you both stop? Do you think I’m happy about this situation? Like I conspired with them and stuck myself here with you guys doing nothing while my friend and my brother are out risking their lives? Of course I’m not happy about this!” She pushed Thrass back into a seat. “They left me here to watch over you two because they don’t think I can help out in any other way. Cooperate with me so I can at least look like I’m capable of this job.”

Sev frowned at her for a moment, then sat back on the bed. Thrass, no doubt, barely understood half of what she said, but stayed seated as well.

“Pip, we have bad friends.” Sev scowled at the situation.

“Mm. Bad.” Thrass concurred.


	9. Chapter 9

Hux spent time with Oni the night before they were set to execute the plan, reviewing the details and trying to tie of any loose ends. He and Cohren would leave in a small ship, and she and Iz would leave in another – a stealth ship. While he and Cohren took care of the trade, she and Iz would locate Reir's main ship. Oni would identify their ship’s signal, so they could track it easily, and identify any exploitable weaknesses in their ship. When the ship took off, they’d easily be able to track its whereabouts. From there it would be easy – locate it, exploit whatever security holes Oni could find, and take them out.

He nodded to her. “You’re confident you can do this?” It was really the most important aspect of what they were doing. If Oni wasn’t confident, it would fail.

“I am.” She said in the sort of tone that indicated she was absolutely telling the truth. She was looking at a projection – schematics of the type of ship they believed their enemy was operating.

“Good. Oni… I appreciate your help with this. I know I can trust you to pull this off.”

“You have spoken with your daughter, correct?”

“Hm? Yes, Cerys and I spoke of the matter. She’s worried, but I assured her there was nothing to worry about.”

Oni nodded slowly. He assumed she was looking at the projection, but with no pupils it was difficult to tell. “As I stated, I do not trust these people. But I suppose the outcome is the same either way.” She tilted her head slightly. “I will crush them.”

He didn’t doubt that for a moment. The severity of the damage she would cause would depend entirely on whether they killed him or simply tired to sell him off to the highest bidder.

“I completely trust your judgment in this matter. Do as you see fit.”

“I will.” She said simply.

They both fell silent for a moment, focused on the schematics.

“Do you know what seems strange to me?” She asked, in an entirely different tone. He voice was soft, almost afraid.

“Hm?”

“That you would trust me with your life, but enough to speak to me about the loss you have suffered.”

He didn’t know how to respond.

“Is it easier to die than to discuss how you feel about things?”

“Oni…”

“Is it? Please answer.”

He thought for a moment. “I know how to die. I've done it once before. I don’t know… I don’t know how to move on from what’s happened.”

“What was she like?”

He looked away from her. “Mila was… feisty. Lively. Very candid. She met Brendol once, shortly before he passed. She sought him out against my will, just to tell him that he was a complete failure of a father and that he’d die alone and be forgotten because of it.”

A smile flickered across her lips. “She sounds lovely.”

“She also told him that she thought she was the first person to ever have loved me. The idea disturbed her, for whatever reason.” He paused. “I never had the heart to tell her she was wrong.”

Oni’s eyelashes fluttered. “That may have been wise. She had no real reason to know of us, did she?”

“No. She didn’t.”

“Was I?”

“The first person to love me? Yes, I think so.”

She was quiet for a moment. “I suspect you are wrong. I think your mother probably loved you very much, even if you were taken from her.”

Hux frowned a little. He avoided thinking about this for a reason.

“I still have her name, you know?”

“What? Really?” He assumed that information was lost when the First Order’s records were all destroyed in the war. And that the rest of it had died with Brendol.

She nodded. “I kept her information. It felt… It felt like something worth preserving, even if you never want to know about her. She did not have a glamorous life, I’m certain you already knew that. She died during the siege of Arkanis. It seemed tragic to me that…” Her eyelashes fluttered again. “That someone who made you might just be forgotten. Erased like she didn’t matter.”

His chest ached. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had done something so devastatingly compassionate for him. He found himself stepping toward her – taking her face carefully between his hands and kissing her.

“Hux…”

He kissed her again. “Thank you.”

She was crying. He couldn’t figure out why, but he wiped the tears away. Kissed them.

“This wasn’t supposed to happen.” She said quietly. “You weren’t even supposed to be alive.”

She was right, this wasn’t supposed to happen. He didn't want it to happen. A piece of him still felt like this was betraying Mila. And a piece of him felt like he was putting Oni in danger, despite the fact that she'd proved over and over again to be far more competent at protecting herself than he was. But it was happening, and he found some comfort in the fact that in a way, she was just as terrified of it as he was.

 

**

 

Rooney looked up at him with an expression that nearly broke his heart. Cerys and Iz had been kind enough to help watch over her, and Baz had even taken to watching her a few times. She seemed particularly fond of him. She reasoned it was because he was blue, her favorite color.

She’d been a champion this whole time – for a four year old, she had a remarkable level of emotional control. Cohren had started to feel like she might be coping with the situation better than he was. She’d only asked where her dad was a few times, and took “He’ll be back soon” at face value.

But now that he stood before her, trying to explain to her that he was leaving, she looked like she was about to have a meltdown. He nearly laughed, crouching down and wrapping her into a hug. “I’m coming back. And I’m going to have your dad with me. It’s okay, Rooney.”

Cerys pretty much had to pry the girl off him. She was trying not to laugh. “I think she’s just getting fed up with people leaving.”

“I don’t blame her.” He messed up Rooney’s hair and kissed her forehead. “I’m sure this has been harder for her than any of us. She’s been a good kid though.”

“Have you gone to see Sev?” Iz asked.

Cohren tried to keep a smile. “I haven’t… in a few days…”

Iz shrugged a little, “You should go. Just to let him know you’re leaving. He found out about this whole thing yesterday, he’s been pretty upset that nobody let him in on it.”

“Isn’t that a good reason to not go talk to him about it?”

“No.” Iz said blatantly. “These things help. They jog his memory. We just need to keep trying."

 

 

Cohren didn’t know how to tell Iz, or anyone else for that matter, that the visits to Sev were taking a toll on him. It was the strangest thing, to miss someone so terribly when he was looking right at him, talking to him, when he was so close he could reach out and touch him.

Sev glared at him from the bed. “Aren’t you leaving on your adventure now?”

“I don’t know that’s what I’d call it, but yes, I’m leaving soon.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Iz told me you’re upset you weren’t included on the plans.”

“Yeah. And?”

“You want to go after the person who did this to you?”

“Do you blame me for that?” He snapped.

He couldn’t understand how much Cohren didn’t blame him for wanting to go after her. He’d go with him, if the circumstances were right. “No. I don’t blame you at all.”

Sev frowned at him. “I don’t know what the fuck you – or any of these people – want from me.”

“I understand this is all probably really confusing and frustrating for you…”

“You _understand?_ What the fuck do you think you understand? I woke up on a ship I’ve never been on surrounded by people I don’t know who seem to know a whole fucking lot about me… and you.” He made a violent motion toward Cohren. “Fucking you, everyone expects me to… I don’t know. Everyone keeps acting like I’m supposed to feel something toward you, like I’ve known you for years or something…”

“I understand that you’re confused.” He shook his head. He couldn’t look at Sev. “I know it probably doesn’t make any sense to you, but I’m confused too.”

“What the fuck do you think you’re confused about? At least you can remember everything…”

“That’s sort of… exactly the problem though.”

Sev glared at him. Cohren didn’t know why he was bothering to say any of this. He shook his head. “I don’t mean to… Look, Sev… I spent nearly every day of the past few years with you. I mean… we share living quarters. Don’t get me wrong, I’m so incredibly thankful you’re even alive, but this isn’t easy for me. You’re here, right in front of me, but you’re not…”

“I’m not what? I’m not the same person? I’ve _changed?”_ Sev sneered.

“No, you’re still the same person." That, very possibly, was the worst part of it all. "You’re just not… you’re not mine anymore.”

Sev drew back from him a little, like the statement was poison. “What… what the fuck is that supposed to mean? Fuck off, I don’t even want you here.”

Cohren looked away, shaking his head. “I’m sorry. This was a bad idea.” He shouldn’t have listened to Iz. He needed to focus on helping Merik. He could return more attention to Sev’s situation when he was back.

As he made his way to the door, Sev spoke: “My glasses went missing.”

“There’s a few backup pairs in our quarters. I’ll have Pip bring you a pair.”

“Why?”

He paused and looked back at Sev. “Because you need them.”

Sev crossed his arms, looking away from him, blinking quickly. “Fuck off.”

 

**

 

Hux pulled Iz aside before he and Oni left.

“I stuck you with her for a reason.” Hux nodded to him. “Keep her safe, okay?”

Iz looked at him, nodding slowly. “Yeah. I kind of assumed that. I’ll make sure nothing happens to her. Just… you make sure nothing happens to you.” He shook his head. “Cerys can’t lose you.”

“As long as you can keep Oni safe, I’ll be safe.”

 

 

Reir was shorter than he remembered. No wonder he was such a surly man. Must be some sort of complex.

“Armitage, it’s a pleasure to see you again.”

Hux wanted to snap at him to never call him that name, but held it back. Right now, he and his crew – 20 individuals all armed with blasters and the blonde woman who’d attacked Sev – were in complete control of the situation.

The expression on Merik’s face when he saw his brother told Hux he’d made the right decision to ask Cohren to accompany him. Merik was injured -- he looked tired and bruised, and his shoulder wound appeared to still be an issue, but he was alive. That was all that mattered.

“You’ve been shockingly obedient, Hux.” Reir said. “I expected you to bring another. It’s very kind of you to make your one other person his brother.” He laughed. “Something must be wrong with you, I never thought I’d use the word _kind_ to describe Armitage Hux.”

“Let’s just get this done.” He said flatly. “Let Merik go.”

He nodded to one of the armed individuals and they undid Merik’s wrist binding, pushing him forward. He strode to his brother’s side quickly.

Hux wasn’t so quick. “You two, head back to the ship and leave. Now.”

“Hux…” Cohren hesitated.

 _“Now.”_ He shook his head, giving the man a warning look.

Cohren nodded and the two started for the ship.

One of the armed people grabbed Hux, binding his arms while another searched him for weapons. All he had was a blaster at his hip. Anything more seemed wasteful. He knew they’d just toss or steal anything he brought. They forced him to turn and shoved him toward their ship. Reir walked next to him.

“See, Hux? That was a good, clean trade.”

“Forgive me for not being enthusiastic.”

He laughed a little. The comlink on his wrist blinked and he answered it. The audio feed went to an earpiece, so Hux couldn’t overhear what was being said.

Reir continued to walk as he spoke with the person. “Hm… Understood… That is good to know, thank you.” He clicked the comlink off and sighed. “What a pity. It appears I spoke too soon.” He glanced up to Hux. “My crew just shot down your spy ship.”

Hux’s stomach lurched. Reir reached for his blaster.

“Cohren, run!” He just managed to turn and shout before one of the guards struck a blow to his stomach, making him cripple over in pain.

A few guards scrambled around him, restraining him further. Through the commotion he could just barely see: the two brothers turned to him, then ran for the ship. Reir fired a shot.

Merik fell.

“Get him out of here! Now!” Hux managed to shout after them before one of the guards wrapped a piece of cloth around his mouth, gagging him.

Reir grabbed his hair, forcing him to look at him. “Let that be a message to your whole crew. This could have been a clean trade. I should have known better than to trust you.”

The irony of the statement coming from Reir was not lost on him.

 

**

 

The shot hit Merik – he stumbled a little. Thankfully both Cohren and his brother had been trained for this sort of situation. He took his arm over his shoulder and helped him the rest of the way to the ship, as quickly as possible.

His brother sank to the floor, his back against the wall, while Cohren closed the door off. He dropped to his knees next to Merik to look at the wound. Merik swatted his hands away. “Get out of here. That’s priority.”

“Merik, you need help…”

“You’re no help to me if you’re dead. Get out of here, now.”

He moved quickly to the cockpit and made a sharp takeoff, heading toward the asteroid field that served as a barrier between he and the main ship. He tried to patch through to Iz and Oni, but the line was dead. He contacted Baz. The Chiss’ blue face popped up on the screen to his side. He stayed focused on what was in front of him.

“Talk to me.” Baz said.

Evidently they already knew things had gone south. He wondered about Iz and Oni.

“They took Hux and opened fire on us. Merik was hit, looks like his side. I haven’t had a chance to assess the severity, we’re headed for the field.”

“We should reach the field in 6 hours, unfortunately this huge ship is quite a lot slower than yours. But with you heading in our direction we can probably cut that down to less than three hours.”

“What happened?”

“We’re not entirely sure yet. It appears they may have spotted Iz and Oni’s ship and shot it down. We can’t reach them. What about Hux?”

“He was alive last we saw him, but we had to run to get away from them. Looked like they were restraining him.”

“Understood. When you’re safely outside the field, stop and check your brother’s status. If you have any questions reach back out to us. We’re going to focus on trying to find Iz and Oni. Keep heading toward our ship.”

“Got it.” He banked right hard to avoid the first asteroid. “I should be in contact with you soon.”

The screen blinked out.

Cohren brought the ship to a stop right outside the field and made his way back to Merik.

He was still leaning against the wall, hunched over and holding his side. Cohren grabbed the emergency medical kit and knelt next to him. “Not good?”

His brother let out weak laugh that sounded almost like it was intended to muffle a grunt. “Yeah.”

He pushed his hands to the side gently.

While he wasn’t as much of a medical aficionado as Iz, he did have basic emergency training, particularly for combat-related injuries like this. Both he and his brother had been trained to handle these things. They’d actually received the training while the First Order still existed.

His heart sunk as he looked at it. Even if they’d been closer, even if there’d been a medic like Iz aboard their ship waiting for them… nothing would have helped. He looked up at his brother.

Merik gave a weak smile. His mouth was bleeding a little. “Don’t worry, I know. You need to get back up to the cockpit. Get yourself somewhere safe. That’s the most important thing now.”

He shook his head. “No.”

“Cohren…”

“No. I’m not going to… Merik. I’m not going to leave you here. Alone. I can’t do that.”

His brother looked back at him for a few moments, then nodded. “You’re sure you’re safe here?”

Cohren felt weak. Very weak, and very helpless. “Yeah. Yeah. I’m safe. Do you…” He heard his voice break a little. “Do you need anything?”

“Nah.” He paused. “Take care of Rooney?”

In the moment, he’d forgotten about her. “Yeah. Of course. Whatever you want.”

“Sev’s good with her anyway.”

He felt tears starting to roll down his face. Merik didn’t know about Sev's injury. He certainly couldn’t give him that news now. “Yeah, he is good with her.”

“He’s a good guy. You always had way better judgment than I did when it came to partners.” He laughed a little.

“He is.”

“When Rooney starts dating, make sure to scare them all a little bit.” He smiled. “That’s a good practice, I think.”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t… don’t blame Oni and Baz for any of this, okay? They seem like good people. They didn’t know. How could they have known?”

“Yeah. Yeah, okay.”

“Let mom know I’m sorry. Let Rooney know, too. When she’s old enough. She won't understand now.”

He hugged his brother, trying to hide his face in his hair. “Yeah. Yeah. I don’t think either of them want an apology. They don’t need one from you.”

“I’m sorry Cohren… I know you never wanted kids.”

“Don’t apologize. Rooney’s different. She doesn’t even count as a kid.”

Merik laughed weakly. Cohren felt the tiniest bit of relief in it. If it was going to end like this, the least he could do is make his brother laugh in his final moments. “Yeah. I guess so. Thank you.”

“No need for that either. I’m happy to take care of her.”

“You’re a damn good brother.”

He couldn’t stop a sob. “I’m going to miss you.”

He stayed there with him, holding his brother, until it was over.


	10. Chapter 10

Baz had hoped the next time he was around Sebbie it would be just as pleasant as the last time -- the laughter, the coquettish little kiss -- but this was a very far cry from that. Sebbie stood next to him as Cohren’s ship landed.

“You were the last person to speak to him. How was he?”

“Distraught. He kept it together well. I think they’re both well trained for combat situations. I’m impressed he managed to keep it together enough to pilot back here.”

“Don’t underestimate the Phasmas. They’re all tough as nails. Have you ever met their mother?”

“I’m afraid not.” The door to the ship opened. Baz ran his fingers over his mouth. “I don’t know how I can ever begin to…”

“None of this is your fault.” Sebbie glanced to him. “I hope you know that.”

“This was supposed to be something simple. If I had any idea it would be even remotely dangerous I never would have asked for their assistance. This has all just spiraled out of control so quickly…”

Cohren stepped off the ship. He looked worn, defeated. But he was standing. That was a feat on its own.

They’d kept the situation on a need-to-know basis. Cerys, of course, needed to know. She insisted on being present for her friend. Hers was another case he couldn’t quite fathom: her partner and her father were now missing because of this mess. She was a strong young woman – she hid whatever pain she was going through well while she was here for Cohren.

She went to the tall blonde and hugged him. He looked like he might fall over.

“Do you think it’s entirely inappropriate for me to speak with him?”

Sebbie hesitated. “I don’t think so. Like I said, none of this is your fault.”

Baz couldn’t help but feel like he was wrong. They went to him. The closer they got, the worse Cohren looked.

Baz decided to speak first. If Cohren just wanted to punch him in the face, that was fine. He was completely entitled to that. “Cohren… I’m so sorry…”

The blonde didn’t look at him, his face turned downward. His voice was hoarse when he spoke. “No… don’t… this wasn’t…”

“I’m sure you don’t want to talk right now, why don’t you two head back to Cohren’s quarters?”

He shook his head, looking back to the ship. “No. No, I can’t… um…” He swallowed. “Is someone coming to get him?”

“Yeah, someone will be here pretty quick.” Sebbie said. “You’re okay, Cohren? You weren’t hit?”

“Yeah.”

A few moments later, the crew came to remove the body. They carted it off on a stretcher, covered with a blanket. Cohren watched them leave with his brother’s body. “I need to… go.”

Cerys nodded and put a hand on his back to guide him. “Come on. Let’s go.”

He and Sebbie watched the two disappear down a hallway to the living quarters.

Forget Cohren forgiving him, Baz wasn’t sure how he’d ever be able to forgive himself.

Sebbie clapped a hand on his shoulder, “Let’s go talk. My place, drinks. Entirely confidential, I promise.”

“Hm? Yeah. Yeah, thank you.”

They walked through the hallways to find Sebbie’s quarters. Baz froze – as they passed one of the turnoffs, he saw Cohren and Cerys. To Cohren’s credit, he’d nearly made it to his quarters before breaking down. He was on his knees, sobbing into her shoulder. Cerys was a good friend – she knelt on the floor with him, hugging him. Maybe it was a little for her as well. He could see she was crying.

Sebbie frowned a little, and pulled him along gently. “Most of the ship’s asleep, they’ll have some privacy there.”

He felt so numb, so helpless. Sebbie practically had to push him into his sofa. He rummaged around for two glasses and poured each of them some sort of liquor. Baz didn’t really care what it was – he drank it.

“Can you drink? I thought you were on call still… With Sev?”

He shook his head. “Sev’s mostly recovered. His memory is still an issue, but he hasn’t had any other complications. I have a few others covering for me while I help you guys out.” He watched Baz for a moment. “I know I keep repeating myself, but this is not your fault.”

“I can’t help but feel like it is.”

“Like you said, had you had even the slightest clue this was going to happen you never would have asked for their help. I know it’s hard to stomach, but this whole thing – it’s just an accident.”

“I suppose I just have trouble accepting that answer.” He paused. “That’s what they said about Theol’s death as well. Mechanical malfunction on the ship he was on. It’s hard to process death as an accident.”

Sebbie sighed a little. “From my profession, I can tell you that it’s an accident very, very often. Have you heard anything of your sister yet?”

“No.” He checked his datapad again. “Nothing. It’s only been four hours. No luck locating the crash yet, either. We have it narrowed to one planet, that at least has a breathable atmosphere, so there’s hope.”

“Good. I’m happy to hear that, at least.”

“I keep thinking about the little girl. Rooney.”

“Mm. Cerys told me they have someone watching her for now. I imagine Cohren will end up with custody of her.”

“Do you know how old he was?”

“I don’t.”

“He looked so young, maybe only a year or two older than Cohren.” He paused. “That’s a lot of life lost. The poor guy…”

Sebbie hummed. “In my experience, the people they leave behind always suffer more.”

Baz looked at him for a few moments. He’d never really thought of it like that. Sebbie had a unique perspective, considering his profession. It made him wonder about Theol's passing in a way he didn't really want to.

 

**

 

Cohren didn’t realize Sev was awake until he heard him getting out of the med bay bed.

“What are you doing here?” His tone was already defensive.

Cohren stood quickly. He could already tell this was going to be a problem. “I’m sorry. I’ll get out of here…”

“Was I not enough of an asshole to you last time you saw me? What part of fuck off do you not understand?”

“Sev… I’m sorry. I just… I didn’t know where else to go.” He felt completely helpless admitting it. “I’m sorry. I’m leaving.”

“Do you not have personal quarters? What the fuck is your problem, anyway?”

Cohren looked at him for a moment, trying to figure out what he wanted to say. Words had been so difficult to find since he returned from the botched mission.

“My brother died yesterday.”

Sev’s eyes narrowed at him. Cohren looked away.

“I know… I know that doesn’t mean much to you. You don’t remember him. You liked him, though.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry, it’s just… everywhere I go people keep finding me. I go to our... my... quarters and they knock on the door, looking for me. They want to talk or… or something like that and I just needed to be… away from everyone else.”

“I’m not everyone else?”

“No. It’s different.” He was essentially digging his own grave. This was bound to turn into a fight. Cohren couldn't talk about this issue without Sev being inexplicably intertwined with everything he was feeling, which would only confuse and frustrate Sev in his current state. It was unfair to Sev, who probably couldn't imagine being an emotional rock for anyone, much less Cohren.

In some sort of act of grace, Sev only reacted by crossing his arms. “What happened?”

“He was wounded during the trade.”

He looked at him for a long moment. “You were there when it happened?”

Cohren deflated a little. “Yeah. I was…” He shook his head. “Merik liked you. He mentioned it to me before…” He couldn’t finish his sentence. “I’m sorry, Sev. I didn’t mean to bother you.”

He left, hoping to find another hiding spot.

 

**

 

“You have to talk to them eventually.” Pip said to Thrass. It’d been nearly a whole week since they broke the news to him and he’d stormed out, refusing to speak to them further.  The little she was able to question him about it, he was still adamant they were wrong.

He looked at her for a moment. “No.”

He seemed to have an affinity for that word. She’d probably heard him use it more than any other Basic word.

She sighed. “Oni and Baz are good people. You can trust them.”

Another long look. “No.”

She rubbed her forehead, wondering if she’d be stuck Chiss-sitting for the rest of her life. “I’m starting to wonder if that’s the only Basic word you’ve actually learned.”

He tilted his head a little.  “No.”

She laughed a little. Every now and then a sense of humor popped through. He was actually pretty funny. “Why won’t you speak to them? I know what they told you seems… crazy.”

“Meaning?”

“Not logical.”

“Thank you.” He paused. “Yes, crazy.” He paused again, a small, barely noticeable frown on his face. He tapped his temple. “Memory… bad.” He pulled out the datapad he kept with him, which he used to look up words and phrases in Basic. There were no translation programs that contained his native language, but there were Sy Bisti translators, a language which he seemed familiar enough with. “I remember... myself older.”

She looked at him for a few long moments. “You remember being older than you are now?”

“Yes.” His expressions were always so difficult to detect, but this one was coming through pretty clearly. Confusion. “Crazy?”

Her heart sank a little. The poor man, that must be a terribly difficult thing to process. “No. No, I don’t think you’re crazy. I think… I think what you remember might prove Baz and Oni right.”

He frowned. “Do not tell.”

She nodded. This whole thing seemed near impossible for someone to actually accept. He must understand that something very strange has happened to him, and he likely suspected Baz and Oni were being truthful. If he wasn’t comfortable discussing it with them yet, that was okay.

“I won’t tell anyone.” She paused for a moment. “I’m sorry.” She felt bad, mostly for being annoyed that she was stuck watching over him. And that he she hadn’t been able to go anywhere without him tagging along for the past week. She was starting to see why. Everything was completely strange and unfamiliar to him, and he didn’t even feel like he could trust his own memory. He needed something – someone – he knew he could trust and rely on, like a solid base. She was okay with serving that purpose until he could come to terms with what’s happened to him.

A knock at her door drew their attention. It was Baz – he hesitated when he saw Thrass was with her. He said something to Thrass in their language. She’d managed to start picking up on a few words and phrases just from spending so much time around Thrass; she caught the words _not_ , _here_ , and _you_. Baz wasn’t there to see him.

Her stomach turned. Baz had come to speak with her. Iz hadn’t returned yet, and from Baz’s expression he wasn’t there to deliver good news.

“Pipista… I’m sorry, do you mind if I come in?”

She stepped to the side and allowed him into her room. “Something’s gone wrong?”

He hesitated again. “Things haven’t gone as planned.” He held up his hands. “I don’t want to cause you more worry than is necessary at the moment, but we’ve lost contact with Iz and Oni.”

She sank back into a seat, dizzy. “What? What’s happened? Do you have any details?”

“Not much as of now. We haven’t been out of contact long, I don’t think there’s reason to start panicking yet. If there is one thing I’ve learned, it’s that you shouldn’t underestimate my sister’s ingenuity. The moment I hear from them, I will let you know.” He nodded to her. “I’m watching the situation closely, I’m sure you understand.”

“What can I do to help?”

“Nothing at this point. Just stay calm, and know that we have the situation under control.”

She hated that answer. Nothing? There was _nothing_ she could do?

“There’s something else.” He paused for a moment, considering how to proceed. “We’ve kept this private for a little while, I hope you understand we wanted to keep the situation on a need-to-know basis while we were handling the bulk of it. The trade for Cohren’s brother did not go well. Merik was killed.”

“What? Where’s Cohren?”

“Cohren returned not long ago; he piloted their ship back here with Merik’s body. He’s…” he sighed a little, shaking his head. “He’s not doing well, as one would expect. My understanding is that he’s been locked in his quarters with Cerys to help him for awhile now. It may be a good idea for you to go see him. I think he needs all the support that he can get right now.”

She tried to blink back the tears she could feel starting to form. “Oh… oh no. His daughter…”

“Rooney’s being watched by someone else at the moment. Cohren is in no condition to take care of her. As for what will happen with the girl…” He shook his head. “Now isn’t the time to think of that. Let’s get through this mess first, let’s help Cohren get through this mess first. Cohren says Hux was taken by Reir and his crew, and was uninjured the last he saw him. Provided Oni gets back to us with the tracking information, we should be able to rescue him fairly easily. I think it might be wise of you to spend some time with Cerys as well. She has a lot to worry about as well, on top of helping Cohren.”

She felt numb, nodding at him. “Yes, yes of course. You’re sure there’s nothing I can do? What’s your plan if Iz and Oni…” She trailed off, not wanting to finish the thought.

Baz shook his head. “Just let us take care of this. You focus on helping your friends.” He turned to Thrass and started to say something in their language.

Thrass shook his head, speaking in a thick accent. “No. I understand.”

Baz nodded to he and Pip. “If you need anything, reach out to me. I’ll be busy with those in command finding a way to solve this problem, but I can make time for anything either of you need.”

With that, he left them.

Thrass looked at the closed door, his jaw tight. He sighed a little and turned to her. “Itzuazua… brother… gone?”

“Um…” Her voice shook a little more than she’d like. “He is missing. They don’t know where he is.”

“Merik?”

As if Cohren didn’t have enough to deal with already. She blinked back more tears, swallowing hard. “Merik is gone. He died.”

The room fell silent. She tried to control her breathing, to keep herself from breaking down to tears. Baz said not to panic. She wasn’t going to panic. She would stay calm and level-headed. She’d find a way to help.

Thrass rummaging through her kitchenette drew her back to the present.

“What are you doing?”

He slid two mugs onto the table and looked at her, like it was obvious. “Tea.”

 

 

 

“Cohren came to see you?” Pip looked up at Sev, frowning. “You weren’t mean to him, were you?”

“Ha.” Cerys gave an empty laugh, glaring at Sev. She'd spent a good deal of time with Cohren since he returned. Pip imagined Cohren had likely spoken to her about the encounter with Sev.

“It was fine.” Sev snipped back, returning her harsh look. “He’s upset. He wanted to be alone.”

Pip didn’t know how to point it out to him, but if Cohren had really wanted to be alone he wouldn’t have gone to Sev’s room. He wanted to be near Sev, like it might help ease some of the pain.

She’d spent several hours distraught over Merik’s death and her brother going missing. She visited Cohren to lend him her support, but he (understandably) wasn’t in the mood for visitors. Cerys, she’d learned in the past few years, was very much like Hux. She was an expert at covering up her feelings. Cracks were starting to show in her veneer – after all, her boyfriend and her father were both missing, and likely in danger – but she managed to keep it together pretty well. Better than Pip felt like she was doing.

But they had hope now. Baz had asked them all – other than Cohren - to gather in Sev’s med bay room. When he walked through the door, he was smiling. Pip was happy she was seated; she might have fallen over with relief at his expression.

“I _finally_ have a little bit of good news for you all.” He took a seat, placing a datapad on the small table next to him. “We got a transmission from Iz and Oni. They’re both fine. Their ship was shot down and crash landed on a small planet not far from here. Oni was injured a little in the crash, but it sounds like Iz took care of it. We have their coordinates, and a rescue team has been dispatched to bring them back. We should have them both aboard in a few hours.” He nodded to Thrass. “You understood that?”

“Yes. Itzuazua… Oni… alive? Here soon?”

Baz nodded, then let out a relieved sigh. “And I have more good news. Despite the crash, my sister managed to get a track on Reir's ship.” He tapped the datapad. “We know exactly where they are, and have a better idea of the schematics of their ship. Cerys, we’ll be able to track down your father right away.”

Cerys covered her mouth, trying to hide a small sob. “Thank you.”

Baz stood again and put a hand on her shoulder. “I promise you, Oni and I will resolve this issue. Oni won’t let anything happen to your father; she’s always felt she owes the man her life.”

She nodded, her eyes pinched shut to hide tears. Admittedly, Pip always thought it was kind of nice to see her like this. Cerys had two modes: happy and serious. Seeing her break down a little made her a lot more relatable.

“I need to tell Cohren,” she said. “He could use a little good news.” She hurried out of the room. Pip suspected she would actually go break down somewhere privately, then deliver the news to Cohren.

“Is there anything at all we can do?” Pip asked.

Baz shook his head. “No. I want you all staying far away from this. Let us handle everything from here.”

She frowned. “But we can help. Give us something to do, so we don’t feel so useless.”

“No,” he said firmly. “We’ve already lost one life. That blood is on my hands. I won’t put any of the rest of you in harm’s way. Stay away from this. We will keep you updated with any new information.”

It was the same answer that Pip hated so much. Stay here, don't do anything, wait for everyone else to solve the problem.

The door opened again and Sev’s doctor came in, smiling at Baz. “I hear there’s good news?”

Pip had spotted he and Baz spending time together. Apparently they were old friends.

“Yes, finally.” He hesitated. “Actually, Sebbie, I wanted to ask you a favor. Oni and Iz will be back on the ship soon, can you check over both of them? I think Iz took care of any of Oni’s injuries, but it’s probably a good idea to have you do a quick check as well.”

The doctor nodded. “Yeah, absolutely.” He glanced to the others. “Let’s speak in the hallway for a moment.”

The two stepped out, leaving Pip and the other two frowning.

Thrass motioned to the three of them. “No help?”

“No.” Pip said flatly.

Sev huffed, looking very disgruntled. “That’s not a good answer.”

“Mm.” Thrass evidently concurred.

“I know.” Pip said. “There must be something we can do.”

The datapad blinked on the table.

“Sev?” She glanced to him. “You can fly a ship, right?”

“Huh? Yeah.”

She bit her lips. They didn’t _necessarily_ need permission to help, did they?

She snatched the datapad from Thrass and traded it out for Baz’s, bringing up the information Oni had sent him.

Sev got to his feet, “We’re going after Iz?”

She shook her head. “No, they have a crew about to pick up Iz and Oni. We’re going after Hux.” She looked at the two, grinning. “A small ship will be faster than anything they can send, right?”

Sev gave a toothy grin, “Yeah, Pip!” He clapped a hand on her shoulder, “Let’s do this. I can steal a ship from these people. Let me go get some real clothes first.”

She nodded. “Good idea. Be quick.” No doubt he’d draw a good deal of unwanted attention in the docking area if he wore med bay robes.

Thrass pulled the datapad from her hands, flipping through the tracking information. “Yes. Need plan.”

“I think I already have one. We can figure out the details on our way.”

 

**

 

Every part of Cohren’s body ached. He’d ventured out from his quarters for the first time in too long just to get some food, and somehow the small trek took every fiber of his strength. He felt like everyone was watching him. No doubt the word of Merik had made its way around the ship.

He needed to return to his quarters, where he could hide again.

He turned the corner to his wing and stopped. Sev, clothed in med bay robes, was standing in front of their door, glaring at the keypad. He tried punching a few numbers in, but when they failed to work he looked like he wanted to smash the keypad.

Cohren didn’t know if he had the energy to face him. But then… after all the strife the past few days, he didn’t think he was capable of being beaten down any further. He went to his side and put the correct code in.

Sev nearly looked afraid. “Er… I need clothes.” He motioned to his med bay robes. “I’m sick of this stuff. I have clothes here, right?”

Cohren tried not to look at him. “Yeah. You live… lived here.”

Sev was quiet for a moment. “Right.” He walked into their cabin. Or what was their cabin. Cohren wasn’t sure who it belonged to any more, he felt like an alien sleeping there without Sev. It didn’t feel like home to Cohren anymore. It was just a place to exist.

Sev paused inside, looking at the bed they used to share. He’d drawn a design onto the wall around the headboard, a massive, intricately patterned piece. At the time he did it, Cohren was simultaneously impressed by Sev's artistic prowess and terrified by the thought that Hux would eventually find out about the permanent markings.

Sev blinked at it. “I did that?”

“Yeah.” It was another thing Cohren had tried to avoid looking at. For some reason looking at his artwork was almost the same as looking at Sev. It was too damn painful. But it was impossible to avoid. Sev had left his mark all over their home. What used to be their home.

“You let me do that?”

“You didn’t really ask before you did it, but I don’t mind it. I actually really like it.”

Sev frowned at it. He shook his head and made his way to the second dresser. It was covered in another design Sev had drawn onto it. He opened the top drawer and pulled out a pair of pants. He looked confused.

“That’s the wrong one.” Cohren went to the other dresser and pulled out a pair of pants and a top for him. “This one is yours.”

When he handed the clothes to Sev, he was glaring at him with a deep furrow in his brow. “I did that to your dresser?”

“Yeah. You didn’t ask, again, but I like it.”

“I didn’t do it to mine?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“I have no idea.” Cohren wondered if there was somewhere else he could go. He needed to be alone again. He didn’t have the energy to argue with Sev.

Sev took the clothes and took a step back from him, before inching around him suspiciously. “Right. I’ll… see you. Later. I’m going back to the med bay.”

“Yeah.” He wouldn’t. Cohren had no intentions of going to the med bay to visit Sev. The whole thing was too much for him. He couldn't bear another visit like the last one.

“Look I…” He messed up his hair, looking strangely nervous. “I’m sorry about your brother.”

He sighed, feeling completely, utterly defeated. “Yeah. Me too. Thanks.” It was the kindest thing Sev had said to him since he woke up.

Sev looked like he had something else to say, but he didn’t say it. He just turned and grabbed a pair of his boots from near the doorway and left.

Cohren thought for a moment about going after him – he'd forgotten to grab a pair of socks to wear with the boots.

 

**

 

Baz hugged his sister. “I’m happy you’re both alright. You had us all very worried for awhile.”

Both she and Iz looked tired, but neither appeared to be injured.

“How is Cerys?” Iz asked.

“She’s okay. I imagine she’s waiting for you.” Baz frowned a little. He hadn’t given them the bad news yet. “The trade for Hux didn’t go as well as we hoped. Reir has Hux, but… but Merik didn’t make it back.”

Iz looked at him for a few moments. “Cohren…”

“He’s not doing well. He had to pilot back here with the body in his ship.”

Iz rubbed his mouth. “Damn. Okay, I need to go see him.”

They started out of the docking area. “Sev hasn’t made any further recovery as far as his memory goes. I think it’s all weighing very heavily on Cohren. Cerys has been spending a lot of time with him…”

They barely made it out of the docking area when Cerys leapt on Iz. She must have been waiting just outside the area the whole time. She threw her arms around him and kissed him. “I’m so happy you’re back, I was so worried about you…”

He returned the gesture, smiling a little. “I’m glad to know I was missed.” She was sniffing a little, trying to hide the fact that she was crying. He kissed the bridge of her nose. “Don’t worry about me. Oni was a little hurt when we crash landed, but I took care of it pretty easily. It just took us awhile to actually get a message through to you guys.” He nodded. “Now we just need to go get your father.”

“With all due respect, Iz, I’m taking all of you off this mission. After what’s happened to Sev and Merik, I can’t risk any more damage to you all. We’re going to take Hux’s full fleet to track him down. None of you need to be involved.”

Iz didn't look terribly happy about this, but Cerys drew his attention away, speaking to him softly, “You should visit Cohren. He needs any bit of good news we can give him right now.”

“Yeah, I will for sure.”

Baz pulled his datapad from his satchel, flicking it on to check the location of the ship Hux was being held on. “Oni, we need to…”

The only thing on the datapad was a Sy Bisti to Basic language program, with a very specific phrase displayed on the screen: _Cleaning up your mess._


	11. Chapter 11

Pip hopped back into her seat, relaxing as the ship reached full speed. Thrass sat next to her, and Sev was at the controls.

“Sev, can you translate for me if he needs it?”

“Yep. I got you both covered.”

She inhaled deeply. “So… here’s what I’m thinking: We’re going to offer to trade Thrass to them.”

Thrass nodded. “Yes. Good.”

“Uh, no. Not good.”  Sev said flatly. “They’ve got the most wanted man in the galaxy right now. He’s _way_ more valuable to them than whoever they think this guy is.”

“That’s the point. We're going to play on the fact that they'll underestimate us. We just need to get on their ship. Namely, Sev, we need to get you on there.”

“Me?”

“If we give them Thrass, they’ll lock him in a holding cell. There will be no chance for him to track down Hux. So we dock, you take out a guard and disguise yourself, and go track down Hux. Get him out, then find Thrass and break him out.”

Thrass motioned to her. “You?”

She shook her head. “I’ll stay and watch over the ship.”

“No.”

That word again. She frowned at him.

“Not safe. You come with me.” He touched his lips. “Words.”

“You want me to go with you as your translator?” It was actually a really good idea. “I like that.”

“Yeah, he makes a point Pip. They’re not going to be okay with a ship hanging around. You need to be with one of us, and you certainly can’t pass as a guard.” He glanced back to her with a smirk. “No offense.”

She swore she saw Thrass trying to hide a smile.

“Right. Right. But that leaves us with one massive problem. How do we get off their ship again?”

“Ah.” Thrass tapped his temple. “Baz and Oni will come.” Again, he almost smiled. “I left words for Baz."

“You left a message for Baz?” She nodded slowly. Thrass's Basic was still pretty rough, but considering he'd only had a week it was actually remarkably good. “Really good thinking, Thrass. That’s perfect. I think we’re safe to assume they know we’re gone by now, and they’re likely chasing after us. Given that they’re moving at a slower rate than us, we probably have about two hours to wait for them after we make contact. Sev, do you think you can time it right? So you break us out just as they arrive?”

“Sure.”

“This does mean that one of us has to convincingly land the ship aboard theirs." She glanced to Thrass. He was quick with languages, maybe he was quick with ship controls as well? "Sev, can you teach him how to land this thing?"

"Um..." He looked to Thrass. "Yeah. Maybe. I can try."

"Good. Sev, while we’re in the easier patches, you should study the schematics of their ship that Oni sent. The ship isn’t huge – chances are all the holding cells are in one area, so Thrass and I will be locked in the same area they’re keeping Hux.”

Thrass was already looking over the controls with an expression that gave her a little bit of confidence.

 

**

 

“I can’t believe how disastrous this whole thing is turning.” Baz stood with his sister, supervising the crew getting the smaller ship ready. Upon discovering that Pip, Thrass, and Sev were all missing on a mission to free Hux on their own, they’d made an executive decision to take several smaller ships to retrieve all them. It would be easier to sneak up and mount an attack, and they’d be faster to arrive.

Oni shook her head. “We owe these people more than I think we can ever give. Cohren in particular, and the little girl.” She paused, then nodded. “But for now, we must focus. We have four very important people to retrieve.”

Iz, Cerys, and Cohren walked across the docking station to them. It was a surprise to see Cohren. He looked remarkably well, all things considered. Tired and worn, but the fact that he was in public was no small feat.

Cerys inhaled deeply before she spoke. “With all due respect to both of your wishes, we’re coming along.”

Baz shook his head. “No. Cerys, I understand, but I can’t allow any of you to…”

“No. You don’t understand.” Cohren cut him off, giving him a powerful look despite how tired he appeared. “Sev is a very self-serving person. He didn’t join them on this hare-brained mission to help save Hux. He’s doing it because he wants to hunt down the woman who landed him in the med bay. Which means he’s going to start another fight with someone who nearly killed him about a week ago.” He gave a short nod. “I’ve lost my connection to my partner and my brother’s life in the past week. I will not sit back and wait for you two to return here just to tell me Sev’s life is gone as well. I’m going along and I’m putting an end to this.”

With that, he turned from them and strode onto the ship. Baz couldn’t think of any ammunition to argue with him.

“This is my sibling we’re talking about. You both ought to understand that.” Iz boarded after Cohren.

They were left with Cerys, who stood with her arms crossed. There were times – like this one – where she looked so much like her father it was eerie. It wasn’t necessarily a physical resemblance as much as one of demeanor.

“Don’t underestimate us, we have better judgement than you might think. I'm no fighter - Iz and Cohren can take care of that. But I'll be on the medical ship. I want to be there to see my father returned safely.” With that, she marched off to the medical ship.

Baz looked at his sister. She shrugged, “Can you argue with any of them? They know what is at risk.”

He rubbed his forehead. “I suppose not.”

“You two look like you just got a talking to by Hux’s girl.” Sebbie came over to them with a smirk. “Am I right? She’s a sharp one.”

“By all three of them, I’m afraid.”

Sebbie laughed at little. He carried a medical kit at his side. “Well, I’ll be along for the ride as well. The medical ship is going to hang a little back from the action, so we can swoop in at the end and take care of any injuries. I’ll be right behind you guys, with Cerys.”

Baz nodded to him. “Thank you. I really appreciate that. Make sure you all keep a safe distance from any conflict.”

“Of course. I’ve been through this a few times before. Believe it or not, I know what I’m doing.”

He waved to them and started off for the medical ship. Baz watched after him, until he noticed Oni looking at him with narrow eyes. She tapped her fingertips against her lips, humming lightly.

“Has a new book caught your eye?”

“A new book? What?”

She glanced to Sebbie’s ship. “It is a very inviting one, I can understand what attracts you to it.”

He sighed. “Oni… don’t. This isn’t… I don’t think this is anything. It’s just very confusing right now. Stop with the metaphors.”

She looked at him for a moment, then sighed. “No metaphors? Fine then. You haven’t let yourself be happy since Theol passed. You’ve spent the past three years isolating yourself from any sort of affection. I would like to see you happy again.” She shrugged to Sebbie’s ship. “This is a good thing, and you deserve good things. You should let yourself have it.”

She turned from him and boarded the ship.

 

**

 

Sev hid himself while they made contact with the ship. Pip found herself a little amazed with Thrass again – when he stood next to her for the transmission, he seemed like an entirely different person. His posture was different, even his facial expressions were different. He’d even changed his hair from its normal side-sweep to a neat, groomed back style.

“I’m Pipista Uru, the translator for Grand Admiral Thrawn.” She motioned to him. “We’re contacting you all in hopes of arranging a trade. The Grand Admiral would like to trade himself for the freedom of Armitage Hux.”

Next to her, Thrass said something. It was so strange, he even managed to make his voice sound different. She didn’t have the slightest clue what he said, but she “translated” anyway.

“The Grand Admiral hopes you will consider his generous offer. He is a very renowned figure among the Chiss; they would pay a good price to have him back.”

She could see the looks on their faces change when they realized what they had – or what they thought they had. Two fools who didn’t understand the value of Armitage Hux, willing to walk right onto their ship.

They allowed them to dock – thankfully Thrass managed to pull off a somewhat decent landing. They stood before the door, taking a few moments to prepare themselves before they opened it.

“Pipista.” He squeezed her shoulder a little so she looked up at him. “Trust me.” He nodded. “Thank you.”

They’d have to keep working on Basic when they returned. She smiled up at him. “You really need to start calling me Pip.”

He let his hand fall from her shoulder as the door opened. “Pip.”

She wanted to laugh; her name sounded so bazaar and innocent with his accent.

Several guards came aboard and surrounded them, escorting them off with their wrists bound. She noticed one of the guards – the last to exit their ship – freeze as he reached the doorway to leave. Sev kept him in a tight Force-hold, then quietly tugged him into the ship.

They were escorted down to the lower level, to a room with several heavy doors on either side. If this deal were actually going down, she and Thrass would be taken to Chiss space. She wondered what his home planet was like. She hadn’t thought to ask him before; he seemed very touchy when it came to any subject concerning his past.

They put Thrass into one cell, and then opened the one next to it for her. She stepped inside before they could push her, and turned to face them.

One of the guards – a sandy haired man in his 30’s who seemed to be the leader of them – crouched down to eye-level with her. “You want to hear something funny, little girl?”

Under slightly different circumstances she might have tried to tear his face off. _Little girl?_

Evidently she didn’t do a good job of hiding her distaste. He smirked. “You don’t speak a lick of Cheunh. Or Sy Bisti, for that matter, because that was the language he was speaking to us. Naturally, most of us here have some level of fluency in the language.”

He was speaking… what? She thought the language sounded different, but thought that it was just his accent, and possibly a more official dialect.

He laughed. “Yeah, your buddy there sold you out. He didn't come in exchange for Hux, he came because he _wants_ to go back to the Chiss. He was willing to surrender himself without any trade whatsoever.”

Her head spun. This was not part of the plan. This was Thrass... doing what he saw as best. Betraying her, so that they would be separated. So he could be taken back to Csilla.

“So we’ll be trading Hux off to the highest bidder soon – no doubt he’ll go for a pretty price, and then we’ll sell Thrawn back to his people for a sizable sum as well.” He stood, leering down at her. “As for what we’ll do with you… that remains to be seen.”

They locked her in.

 

 

She wasn’t sure how long she sat there, fuming in the darkness with only one little stream of light coming in from a very small window on the door.

When Sev came, they’d leave Thrass in his damn cell. The spoiled brat, betraying them all like that just to return to his home… Of course he wanted to go home. She couldn’t blame him for that. But they could have found a way to get him back to Chiss space. There was no need for him to betray all them, other than that he was too selfish and impatient to wait until they finished this mission.

The little window on her door went dark. She looked up to see Sev’s pale green eyes looking back at her. She let out a sigh of relief. Him finding them was the second hardest part, only to timing the whole thing right so they were freed just in time for Baz and Oni to arrive with the fleet.

She heard a sparking noise outside the door, and it slid open. He turned his lightsaber off, waving the hilt at her. “Where did I get this thing? Iz always had one and I was kind of jealous… it’s like the handiest tool I’ve ever had.”

She stepped out into the open with him. “I’m not sure, you just appeared with it one day.”

“Hm.” He frowned at it.

“Which one is Hux in?” She’d look for him herself, but it would require hoisting herself to look into the tiny windows.

He started down the hallway, peering into each window. He paused at one toward the very end and slashed the keypad with his lightsaber.  The door opened.

A familiar red head sat on the floor, shielding his eyes from the light. He blinked a few times.

_“Pip?”_

She frowned at his tone. “Yes?” Was it really that surprising that she was there?

He pushed himself to his feet slowly. “And Sev? Where are the others?”

“They aren’t here yet.”

“They aren’t…?” He looked terribly confused. “You two are here alone?”

“Yes, it was taking them too long to come after you and they wouldn’t let us help, so we just got the job done ourselves.”

He looked down at her, blinking. “What?”

“They were being slow.” She said slowly. He must be somewhat jarred from being locked in a cell for so many days. “And they wouldn’t let us help. So we came here on our own. They should be tailing us though, to try and stop us. I imagine they’ll be here any minute.”

He continued looking down at her, a frown on his face. She returned the scowl.

In a completely out of character moment, Hux sat on the floor in front of her, crossing his legs. He inhaled deeply holding his hands out like he was trying to temper something. “If there is one person in this entire galaxy that you should _never_ risk your life for, it’s probably me. What the hell are you thinking?” He paused and rubbed his face. “Yes. What the hell are you thinking being here right now?”

She crossed her arms and looked away from him. “That’s at my own discretion. Maybe now you won’t think I’m only capable of sitting on the ship and fielding transmissions.”

His mouth hung open. “Is that what this is about? Pip you are very sorely mistaken if you think…”

She cut him off with a sharp hand motion. “It’s not just you, it’s all of you. Now you all  can stop thinking I’m incompetent just because I’m short, okay?”

“Pip. I’m afraid you’ve made a terrible, terrible mistake.” He motioned to himself, “I think you’re god damn brilliant. There’s a reason I’ve wanted you as my aide for so long.”

“And…” She motioned to him, “I can also run rescue missions.”

He pressed his fingertips together before his lips. “Yes. Apparently you can. Never do something this stupid again. Especially for me.”

“The least you could do is say thank you.”

“Yes. Yes. Thank you. Never, ever, ever do this again.”

She looked at him for a moment. He was genuinely afraid. Not for himself, but for her.

“How is Merik? He was hit with a blaster shot when he and Cohren were trying to escape…”

She shook her head. “It wasn’t good.” No wonder he was terrified for her; he’d seen Merik get shot.

His mouth twitched.

“He didn’t make it. Cohren is in bad shape over it.”

He nodded to Sev, behind her. “And him?”

“Still doesn’t remember anything, which is making it worse for Cohren.” She said quietly.

Hux blinked quickly. He was very disturbed by this whole ordeal.

She rubbed her jaw. "You shaved."

"Yes. I thought they would appreciate me looking more like my old self for the trade."

She frowned. "You should  grow it back. You look like a much nicer person with it."

"Right."

Behind her, she heard Sev’s lightsaber turn on. A few quick slashes, and then Thrass’ voice, “Thank you, Sev.”

She turned away from Hux, marching to Thrass. “Yes, thank you, Sev, for letting this absolute jerk… out of his cell.” She shoved him back toward his cell when she reached him. “This traitor sold me out to them just so he could return to his precious home planet…”  She shoved him again. He looked a little terrified of her, which made her a little happy. “You self-centered jerk, we would have taken you there if you just waited for this whole mess to get cleaned up. But instead you betray us – betray _me_ – for the aid of these murderers…”

He said something to Sev in either Sy Bisti or Cheunh – evidently she wasn’t able to tell the difference.

Sev laughed, “Nah, nah, I’m not going to explain. This is funny. Keep going, Pip.”

She looked back at him. “Explain what?”

Thrass motioned to both of them desperately. “Explain. Explain. Please.”

Sev rolled his eyes. “Fine.” He wagged the hilt of his lightsaber at Thrass. “That was the idea the whole time.  We couldn’t let you in on it, because… well because you’re a terrible liar.”

“Liar?” Thrass said, confirming the word. He motioned to Pip. “Bad. Very bad. I am sorry.”

“He was afraid they’d be suspicious of your intentions, especially after everything that happened during the last trade.” Sev explained. "So he told them he used you to help reach them, and was more than willing to cooperate with them if it meant he could return home."

She looked at Thrass for a moment. Half of her wanted to apologize, and the other half was still so angry she wanted to shove him again.

“Right, well, this is a fantastic reunion.” Hux stepped into the conversation. “Sev, do you have a blaster?”

“Huh? Yeah.” He pulled it from his hip and tossed it to Hux, waving his lightsaber hilt. “I have one of these thingies now, so you can keep that.”

“Right. Thank you.” He went to the exit in a few long strides and looked out to the hallway. He fired off two shots, then hurried out into the hallway. They followed after him.

He was at the end of the hallway, pulling the blasters off two other guards, each with smoking holes from blaster shots in the back of their helmets. He returned to them and handed one to she and the other to Thrass.

Her mouth hung open for a moment. “Did you just… _kill_ both of them?”

Hux paused, blinking like he was offended by the question. “When we return to our ship, there will be plenty of time for us to discuss how completely and utterly moronic this whole endeavor was. For now, all you need to know is that those two would not have hesitated to do the same to you, and neither will anyone else on their crew. If you’re going to shoot, shoot to kill.” He paused. “Do you even know how to use that thing?”

She looked at the blaster in her hands. “Um…”

Hux rubbed his face. “Okay. Pip, you stay near me. I’ll cover for you. In the event that you need to keep yourself safe, do not hesitate to shoot. Understood?”

She nodded at him.

He modeled proper posture for aiming. “Full arm’s length, line the pin up with your target. And keep both your eyes open, you’ll want to close one but don’t.”

“Er… got it.”

“Good. Now, if the crew is coming to retrieve us, the best place for us to be is probably the docking area. Our goal is to get there unnoticed and stay hidden until they arrive.”

They hid the bodies of the two guards and started on their way. They made it around a few turns before running into a guard, which Hux took out quickly. There was something chilling about it – he didn’t even hesitate.

They were nearly to the docking station when they heard footsteps – hurried, like several guards marching to something important. Hux pushed her back into an open empty room – a supply closet – and the others followed after. They readied themselves, expecting the guards were after them.

“We’ve got one trying to dock and five others surrounding the ship! They’ve overridden our docking controls, we can’t keep them from entering the ship.”

She thought she might be the most relieved of any of them to overhear such a statement, but Hux’s face said differently. He actually smiled a little.

The guards ran past their room and they followed shortly after, keeping far enough distance that they could keep fairly well hidden.

Just as the guards before them entered the docking area, Hux opened fire on them from behind. He took two out before Thrass and Sev joined in, eliminating the rest of them. They rushed into the docking area, and Hux forced her into a hiding spot – a shielded area with supply boxes.

He nodded to them, “You all stay here.” With that, he made his way to a ladder that went up the wall, leading to a small overlook where he’d have a direct shot to anyone entering the docking area.

Sev patted her on the head. “Stay safe, got it?” He nodded to Thrass. “If you have to take a blaster shot to keep her safe, do it. I’ve got something I need to take care of.” He ran off, back into the main area of the ship.

“Sev!” She could hear Hux hissing at him from his perch. What the hell was Sev even thinking? They could already hear the footsteps of more guards heading for them.

Thrass hunkered down, taking a position where he could fire at enemies if needed. She watched the docking area from a small slit between supply boxes. It was like a breath of fresh air – a familiar black ship, swooped in and landed in the docking area. The door fell open.

And Iz came out.

She couldn’t hold back an audible sigh of relief. She hadn’t seen him since he went missing.

He kept his lightsaber hilt in his hand, his eyes trained on the entry. Her stomach sank as the footsteps grew nearer. There were a lot of them. And only her brother and Hux and Thrass here to handle them.

The footsteps neared and she realized she needed to say something, to tell him to hide. Anything would be better than him standing right in front of the entryway. She opened her mouth, and Thrass covered it quickly, looking at her with wide, red eyes. “No.” His heavily accented voice was quiet and hiss-like. “Trust Iz.” He motioned out to him, “Watch.”

It felt like some sort of unbearable, cruel torture. Thrass forced her to stay, keeping his hand over her mouth, making her watch whatever was about to become of her brother.

The blue blade of his lightsaber came on. From just outside the entry, someone opened fire. He moved quickly – incredibly quickly – and deflected all the blasts with his blade. More fire came, but he kept up with it easily.

They started to push forward, just barely making their way through the entry, and Hux opened fire, starting to pick them off, one by one. It only lasted a few moments before the attackers were confused and beaten enough to break from firing on Iz. He lunged foreword, right into the middle of them, taking out three or four of them with swift, powerful motions.

It occurred to her, very suddenly, that she’d never actually seen her brother fight before. It was like a whole different person. This was not the same man who broke down hugging her when he first found her nearly a decade after their parent’s deaths. It wasn’t the same person who’d dedicated his life to healing, like an homage to their mother. This person was ruthless, powerful…

The blaster fire died out. They stopped entering through the doorway.

Her brother stood in the midst of 20 or 25 bodies, checking is surroundings. He looked up to where Hux was.

“You’re clear?” Hux shouted down to him.

“Yeah.”

Cohren came off the ship behind him, blaster drawn. “Iz, I’ve never seen you fight like that.”

“Hm.” He said shortly. He wasn’t even talking like her brother.

Hux dropped down to floor level, and Thrass stood from their hiding spot, pushing Pip out before him.

Iz’s expression changed back to something recognizable when he saw her. He rushed to her, dropping to his knees and folding her into a hug. She was still so confused by what she’d just witnessed, she had no idea how to react to the hug.

He squeezed her. “You’re okay! Pip, I was so worried… don’t _ever_ do something like this again…”

Behind them, a few other small fighter ships started docking. Guard troopers started pouring out, getting ready to invade the ship. Hux and Cohren were speaking quietly.

Hux nodded to them. “Iz, get them to safety right away. Cohren and I are going after Sev.”

“He’s looking for the Force user who hurt him. We need to stop him.” Cohren said.

Iz nodded. “I’ll get these two to safety, then I’ll join you.”

They boarded one of the small ships and took off – there were a few more ships in the area, standing backup in slightly more remote locations. She watched after Iz as he made his way to the cockpit to speak with the pilot.

After a moment, she realized Thrass's hand was on her shoulder. "Pip?"

She shook her head, looking up to him. "Um... Yes? What?"

The corners of his mouth turned down a little. He guided her to a seat and made her sit. "Problem?"

"I just... I realized... this was a terrible idea."

His frown deepened.

"I didn't help. The plan was a mistake, you had to change it without even telling me."

"No."

That damn word, she really wished he'd quit using that damn word. "Yes, yes it was. It was poorly thought out and..."

"No." He repeated firmly. "They would not be here already. Maybe waited too long."

She understood what he was trying to say. The thought was kind - her taking action had lead to Hux being rescued earlier. But that wasn't really the point. She hadn't done it for Hux, she'd done it to prove that she was useful.

She looked up at him, trying to blink back tears. "If I hadn't come, Iz wouldn't be here. He wouldn't have done... he wouldn't have done what he did back there. To all those people." She shook her head, nearly numb with disbelief. "Did you see what he did? That was my brother. My brother isn't... he doesn't... I thought he would never actually hurt anyone. My brother is a healer, he's a medic. He's not supposed to..."

It was terribly embarrassing, but she could feel a few tears start to fall. Thrass watched quietly for a moment, his expression too difficult to read. Finally, he reached out and wiped a tear from her cheek with his thumb.

"Home." He said, nodding a little. "Go home. Pip needs tea."

 

**

 

The troopers invading the ship took over taking down the crew, so he and Cohren could focus on finding Sev. Never, in his entire life, did he think he’d feel like he owed Sev a favor. But the man had saved he and his daughter. This was the least he could do.

Not to mention, this was the absolute least he could do for Cohren. When he saw Merik take the shot, he knew it was bad. Still, it was shocking to get the news they’d lost him. He hadn’t spoken of the matter to Cohren yet. They both needed to focus on the task at hand.

They split ways, agreeing to message the other in the event Sev was found. Hux took the lower level; there weren’t many of his own troopers down there yet, making that level more dangerous.

He hurried through the near deserted hallways, checking into each room, stepping over the bodies of Reir’s crew whenever he came across them. He could tell he was on the right path – a few of them had lightsaber wounds.

As he expected, he heard Sev before he saw him.

“Yeah, I’m alive, bitch.”

Hux rolled his eyes. He could hear lightsabers ignite in the room the voice came from. He reached out to Cohren on his comlink, “Hey, I found him on the lower level. He’s perfectly fine, I don’t think…”

Cohren’s reply cut through, his voice dry. “I can hear the lightsabers, Hux. I’ll be there soon.”

The two in the room clashed. He made his way to the doorway and peered in. It was a supply room, filled with shelves of miscellaneous supplies, the walls lined with pipes and wires that  carried out the ship's primary operations. Sev and the woman were fighting viscously, making a complete mess of the place.

He’d seen Sev fight more than once before.  The man had a bad habit of getting himself involved in spats on a fairly regular basis. This – what was happening in the room – was something entirely different. Sev usually toyed with the people he was after, taunting them, playing with them.

But his movements in this fight were blatantly different. They were powerful, assured… meant to kill. He wanted this woman gone, sooner rather than later. Hux was perfectly content with that sentiment, and if he had complete faith in Sev’s ability to stop her he would have turned away and waited for the whole thing to finish. But the woman had beaten him terribly only a week prior.

In this fight, despite Sev’s hyper-aggressive stance and powerful demeanor, she clearly had the upper hand with a lightsaber. She blocked his blows easily. He managed to land one good blow, Force-throwing her into the wall hard enough to knock some of the narrow pipes loose. She recovered quickly, and it only took a few moments for her to disarm him – the hilt spun across the room and he fell to his knees. Hux was about to look away when Sev did something entirely unexpected – he reached up, in a swift, powerful movement, and grabbed her neck, dragging her down to the floor, pinning her by the neck and standing over her.

Hux could see little sparks of what looked like electricity bouncing around the fingers gripping her neck. It must have been the same thing as what she did to him.

“I hear you used this one me.” He stood over her, sneering as she struggled. “Have you ever had anyone use it on you?”

Before she could give any sort of reply, the sparks flared and the woman seized up, giving an awful, painful shriek.

After a moment, he stopped. He stood, and kicked her side. “Come on, get up. You can keep fighting.”

The woman gave a half-cognizant moan and rolled to her side. He kicked her again, “Come on. Get up.”

This was the Sev he knew. He’d weakened her enough that she wasn’t a threat. Now he could toy with her.

She started to push upright and he grabbed her neck again, forcing her back down and zapping her again. He laughed. “Ha. Okay. I was kidding.” He started to shock her intermittently.

Hux stepped into the room. “Sev.”

The man turned his attention from the woman, looking at Hux dully. “I don’t even remember you, but I can tell we probably didn’t get along.”

Hux frowned. “No, we didn’t. But still, you saved my life and my daughter’s. So I owe it to you to step in now. There’s no need for you to continue…”

He zapped the woman again, as if to show how little he cared.

Hux sighed. He may have lost his memory, but his personality certainly hadn’t changed. “Sev, stop this now.”

“Stop? Stop?! Are you fucking kidding me? _She_ didn’t have to stop, did she?”

With the worst possible timing, Cohren came into the room, tailed shortly by Iz. They both looked shocked by the scene, Sev looming over the injured woman, yelling at her and at Hux and probably at the galaxy in general.

Cohren stepped forward. “Sev… you need to stop this. She’s dangerous, you know that…”

“Of course I fucking know that, what the fuck makes you think you need to tell me that of all people?” He huffed, then added coolly. “Don’t worry about it; I’ve got this under control.”

Cohren frowned. “Sev… come on, please. I know you don’t give a shit about what I think or what they think or what anyone else thinks for that matter, but at least try to give a shit about your own life. Just walk away from her. Please.” He shook his head, raising his voice to a level of irritation Cohren rarely showed. “I know it doesn’t fucking matter to you Sev, but I’m worried, okay? I nearly lost you to her, my brother just died, and now you’re trying to fight her again. Please, just… let this go, just walk away from this one. Please.”

The frown on Sev’s face twitched. He was _actually_ thinking about what Cohren said. He stood from her. “Fine. But…”

Sev barely made it one step before Hux was thrown to the side by an invisible force. Cohren tumbled next to him, both of them knocked to the floor. The towering blonde got to his feet again quickly. Hux tried to push himself upright, but there was a searing pain in his shoulder that made him fall back over. He looked – one of the narrow pipes was running straight through his left shoulder. In fact, there were several of them, sticking out of the wall behind where he and Cohren had been standing.

Iz was at his side quickly, assessing the wound. He cursed. “Hux… Damn it, I’m sorry I tried to Force throw you both out of the way of her attack…”

He pushed himself upright again roughly, his head spinning with the pain. He looked at the death trap of pips embedded into the wall. “Could have been worse.”

Iz peered at the wound. “I can get the pipe out and stop the bleeding, but you need a full doctor, stat.”

“Yeah, yeah. First things first.” He grunted and leaned against the wall. If this was anything like when he removed the bullet from that same shoulder, this would not be fun.

 

**

 

Sev had already turned back to the woman, kicking her hard enough she skidded across the floor. “What the fuck are you thinking you stupid…”

“Sev…” Cohren stepped toward him, trying to keep him from further action.  “Sev, come on…”

His pleas didn’t work; Sev drug the woman upright by her face, pinning her against the wall, his fingers sparking again.

“You think you can just get away with attacking him like that?” He shocked her and she shrieked again. “Do you even realize what you took from me you worthless…”

Cohren took another step toward him. “Sev…”

Sev shocked her again, “I woke up in a hospital full of a bunch of fucking people I don’t even know who seem to… like me and care about me and I don’t even fucking know who they are…”

Cohren paused. He reached out, putting a hand on Sev’s shoulder gently. “Hey…”

Sev shrugged it off. “You awful bitch, do you even know… I’ve never had anybody. Ever. And somehow I found people and I can’t even remember it…”

Cohren’s heart sank a little. Maybe, in the face of everything going so wrong, he’d underestimated how difficult this was for Sev. Still, if the accident that left Hux with a pipe in his shoulder proved anything, it was that this woman was still dangerous.

He gave up the kind act and pulled Sev away from her. Sev swatted at him, pushing him away. “You…” He looked at him viscously, then turned his attention back to the woman, who’d collapsed against the wall, her head lolling a little. Her eyes barely showed signs of consciousness. Sev motioned violently to Cohren. “This fucker is the worst of all of them. He… he seems to care about me a whole fucking lot more than anyone I’ve ever met, and fuck if I know why. Enough to do something stupid.” He turned back to Cohren and shoved him, “Like step into a fight between two Force users. Are you fucking kidding me? Did you see what she just did? Do you want a fucking pipe through your head?” He shoved Cohren again. “Stay out of this.”

He glared at Cohren for just a moment, before turning back to the woman and kicking her again. “You fucking took him from me… I can’t remember any of these people but he’s the worst of them all…”

Oddly enough, Cohren thought it might be the nicest thing Sev had ever said about him. Sev lunged at the barely conscious woman, but Cohren stepped between them again. If he was going to get the title of “worst of them all”, he’d earn it. Sev would have to fight him to get anywhere near the woman. All he wanted was Sev very, very far away from her, for the rest of his life.

Sev tried to dodge around him, but he lowered himself a little and caught him, hoisting him over his shoulder. He’d have to drag Sev from the room. That was fine.

“Put me down you fucking AT-AT…”

“No. You’re done here.”

“No I’m fucking not, let me go…”

Cohren walked out of the room with him, heading for the docking area. He’d drag him off the ship like this, kicking and screaming, and everyone around them would wonder what the hell was happening, and Cohren wouldn’t give a fuck because it would be one step further away from that monstrous woman.

He found the lift to take them to the upper level and stood and waited for it with Sev still over his shoulder, bitching about how he could take care of the problem.

“She’s almost dead anyway, Sev. You don’t need to be there.”

“YES. I do. I need to finish this…”

“No. No you don’t. I’m not going to let you near someone who nearly killed you.”

Sev was quiet for a moment. “Why?” It didn’t really come out like a question, more like a demand.

“Because I care, okay? A whole fucking lot. It sounds like you figured that out already.”

The lift door finally opened and he stepped inside with Sev. As he did, Sev pulled a fast move and grabbed the edge of the doorway. He pulled, using his knees to force Cohren back against the wall, and wrapped his legs around Cohren’s waist, pulling his face toward his and kissing him.

It was rough and forced and messy and exhilarating. Just like kisses always were with him. He was lost in it for a moment. Cohren tried to pull back. “Sev… I can’t… don’t do this…”

Sev forced another kiss on him. “Why not? What’s different? You could before, right?”

He tried not to let out a weak nose as he pulled away from his lips again. He held Sev’s face back to keep him from kissing him again, letting his thumb run along the feathered design that wrapped around his ear. “Sev… I want you back so terribly. If this is just a… a tease… or an experiment… I can’t…”

Sev pushed past his hand kissing him hard.

He guessed that was the answer he wanted.

 

**

 

When Iz finished healing off what he could, he helped Hux to his feet. His shoulder still ached terribly, and his head hurt from whatever emotional mess had just gone down before them between Cohren and Sev. It’d ended with Cohren carting the man out over his shoulder, Sev fighting him every inch of the way.

Iz nodded at him. “We should head back. I let Cerys know you’re okay, but she’s worried about you. She needs to see you.”

“Thank you for letting her know.” No doubt his daughter was worried sick about him. And honestly, he wanted to see her as well.

“What do we do with her?” Iz asked, looking at the barely conscious woman sitting against the wall.

Hux frowned. “Hm. Yes. Hold on a movement.”

He walked across the room to her, picking up a length of pipe and prodding her with it. Her head lolled. Her eyes barely opened, narrow slits.

He poked her again. “Can you understand me?”

Her eyelashes fluttered a little.

He sighed. “I’ll take that as a yes. I wanted you to hear this: _Nobody_ touches my family, or my crew. Understood?”

Her eyelashes fluttered again.

“Good.” He drew the pipe upright and lashed it across her temple sharply, then dropped the pipe to the floor.

He turned and walked back to Iz. “Let’s make our return.”

Iz looked up at him, his expression unreadable. They walked together, back to the docking area.

“I’m sure you understand,” he said, “but I would appreciate it if you would refrain from telling my daughter about that.”

Iz was quiet for a long while.

“Did you see the way my sister looked at me after that fight in the docking area? She thought I was a monster.”

“Hm.” Hux didn’t look at him. “There has to be a few of us willing to do the dirty work to keep everyone else safe. You did the right thing to protect her. She may not see that now, but she will eventually.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Sev x Cohren playlist!](https://virgilvirgilvirgil.tumblr.com/post/165567308252/harkbacker-cohren-x-sev)


	12. Chapter 12

Cerys buried her face in his good shoulder while she sobbed. He couldn’t help but think of the loathing look she’d given him the first time he met her, when he was a prisoner of the Republic and she was a recently orphaned little girl who had no tolerance whatsoever for his… well, anything, really. She’d hated him.

How did his life come to this point? With her sobbing into his shoulder and begging him to never do anything so stupid again?

He returned the gesture the best he could, wincing as he put his hand on the back of her head to comfort her. Despite the little Iz was able to heal his wounded shoulder, it still ached terribly. He needed to let Iz or Sebbie take a look at it soon, after Cerys was done.

“You shouldn’t be so distraught, Cerys. I’m perfectly fine, and nothing like this is going to happen again.”

“You’re not fine, your shoulder is hurt… The same one that was hurt before… You need to be careful…” She managed between sobs.

He buried his nose in her hair, sighing a little. He was flattered by her concern. There were very few people in his life that ever cared about him so much. “Okay. Okay. I’ll be careful from now on.”

“No more adventures.”

“Right. No more adventures.” He was getting a little too old for this anyway.

She sobbed again. “Both you and Iz were missing, and Merik…”

He squeezed her a little, hoping to get her to calm down. “Cerys… it’s okay. Iz and I are fine, we’re both here. As for Merik… we’re going to do everything we can to make sure Cohren and Rooney are in good hands.” Speaking of which, he hadn’t seen either Cohren or Sev since he and Iz made their way onto Sebbie’s medical relief ship. Cohren looked completely wiped out upon his rescue, and went to his quarters. Sev had disappeared shortly after – Hux had learned to never ask questions about where he was or what he was doing.

She sniffed. “No more adventures for either of you.”

“Okay. Okay. I promise… Now… I really need to talk to Sebbie about my shoulder…” The pain was growing more intense.

She backed away from him, wiping her eyes. “I’m sorry. Yes, of course. Please… If you need anything, let me know.”

He signaled for Sebbie, who directed him into one of the private rooms to check his injury just as they docked back at the main ship.

 

**

 

The guard stood straight at the entry way, blocking them. “I’m sorry, I have specific instructions that nobody is allowed on the ship until Hux himself authorizes…”

Baz could feel the pending wave of fury building up in his sister. She was never quite able to keep the calm, controlled behavior their father had. Her temperament was, without a doubt, from their mother.

“Do you know who I am?” Her voice was nearly a snarl. He rubbed his forehead. Ten years ago, he may have tried to calm her. He’d known her long enough now to know that was useless. “Who do you think you are, trying to stop me from entering this ship? I have known Armitage Hux since he was a Major in the First Order. He has been a close personal friend for over half my life, he has been to my home planet, had dinner with my family…”

Baz was just grateful she didn’t blurt out that she’d been romantically involved with him once.

Her voice rose, then dropped short. She scowled at the guard, who looked completely baffled by her outburst. She shoved him to the side and stormed onto the ship.

“Sorry,” Baz added to the guard as he followed her.

Hux was in a small open room, talking with Sebbie. His shoulder was bandaged – Iz had relayed a message to them that he was well, but suffered a mild shoulder injury. Which was what has set Oni off on this unwinding path of worry.

He barely had time to get to his feet before Oni marched into the room. Baz bit back a laugh – she started fussing with him, gently picking something unseen off the bandaged shoulder, chattering at him so quickly he wondered if Hux could even understand what she was saying. He looked a little dazed – the poor man was probably exhausted and in pain.

She reached up and tucked some of his hair behind his ear, and paused, looking up at him. Baz hadn’t noticed until just then – she was crying.

Hux put his hand on hers, pulling it away gently and leaning toward her, and Sebbie stepped out of the room, shutting the door on the scene, a crooked smile on his face.

Luckily there were only a few others in the area – Thrass and Pip, who were talking and appeared to not have noticed, and Iz and Cerys, who stood with their mouths hanging open.

Sebbie stepped toward he and the two. “So… none of us saw that, right?”

Iz covered his smirk. “Saw what?”

Cerys couldn’t cover hers. “Oh… But… When did they start... ?”

“Nearly 20 years ago,” Baz laughed a little.

Sebbie smiled at her. “You should have seen him around her back then. To be fair, they were both different people, but he adored her. I know… things have happened to him since. Bad things. But… I think it’s time he lets himself heal a little.” He cast Baz a quick glance, then looked away again.

“Oh… you have no idea…” Cerys sounded half dazed. “This is better than anything imaginable…”

 

**

 

He kissed Oni, and wiped the tears from her cheeks. “Thank you. Again.”

She blinked quickly, more tears falling. “Yes but… This time… I almost didn’t get to you…”

He kissed her again. “But you did. Thank you. You’ve saved my life three times over, now.” He looked at her for a long moment. “I don’t know how I could ever repay you.”

She shook her head. “No. That is not a concern. Just…”

He kissed her again.

“Mmph… you could keep doing that.” She smiled a little and pulled him in. “Hux… I’m sorry… I’m not trying to live in the past but this is…” She kept pausing to kiss him more. “This is different. Is it not the same as it was.”

“It is. This is whatever you want it to be, Oni. I owe you whatever you want.”

“But what do _you_ want?”

He looked at her for a long moment. To not be alone. To sleep through a full night again. To pack some more stuff around the void Mila had left, so it didn't hurt quite as much anymore.

He shook his head. “You.”

 

**

 

Cohren mistakenly thought the hardest part of dealing with Rooney would be telling her that her father was gone. But when he’d returned from the mission with Merik’s body and haphazardly tried to break the news to her, she seemed nearly indifferent. What would a four year old know of death, anyway? The girl still didn’t really understand what happened to her mother, much less what happened to her father.

The hardest part, by far, was having to explain it to her over and over, hoping it would eventually sink in. She was confused often, and asked where he was at least once a day. Hux managed to get him a slightly bigger quarters on the ship, with a small extra room for her. She didn’t understand why she had to move in with him. She didn’t understand why her father wasn’t there.

A few days after they rescued Hux the confusion turned to frustration, and she spent days refusing to talk to Cohren or even make eye contact with him. The good news was that Sev was back in the picture, there to help. He was still remarkably good with her, and didn’t hesitate to step in and care for her during her short phase of hating Cohren.

That phase ended abruptly, about a week later, when she woke in the middle of the night, howling and sobbing. It’d taken that much time for reality to sink in: Her father was gone, and he wasn’t coming back.

Oddly, Sev made it to her room before Cohren did. He reached the door just in time to see Sev drawing her out of her bed, hugging her while she sobbed.

Cohren had never in his entire life wanted children. Neither had Sev. And nothing about Sev ever, ever had struck Cohren as even remotely fatherly. But by some miracle, Sev was really good with her. He wondered what it was. Maybe that Sev had been so lonely as a child, he had a natural knack for understanding what she needed?

Admittedly, Cohren still wasn’t sure about children. He was terrified by the thought of having to raise Rooney. But with Sev around, it seemed much more manageable.

He sat on the bed next to Sev holding the sobbing girl, and kissed near his temple. His hair was starting to grow back, just a little. “I’m happy you’re back, Sev.”

Maybe the memories would come back to him soon. Hopefully. But for now, Sev was willing to accept that he didn’t remember. It was more than Cohren ever could have asked for.

“And I think she’s happy you’re back as well.”

The girl howled in his arms.

“Well… maybe not right now, but she’ll be grateful for it soon.”

Sev scooted back so his back was against the wall, looking like he was about to fall asleep despite the noise she was making. “She’s fine. She’s just sad right now. We’ll be throwing pillows at each other again soon.”

Cohren looked at him for a long moment.

“Wait… do you _remember_ that?”

 

**

 

Discretion in such personal matters had always been important to Hux. He was sure at some point – about a week after he’d been rescued -- people were starting to wonder what Oni was still doing among them. In particular, Baz was probably suspicious. He stuck around with his sister, claiming he wanted to help with the cleanup after the mess they felt responsible for making. For the most part, for Baz, that consisted of watching Rooney, which he seemed happy to do. It made Hux a little sad that just a few years before he had been looking at starting a family with his now deceased husband. Baz would have made a very good father.

Oni, on the other hand, took care of overhauling much of his crew’s technology. Every day a new supply ship would show up with gifts from her company – one day it was comlinks and holocams, the next it was equipment for an entire overhaul of their ship’s operating system.

He told her several times it was all unnecessary, but she insisted. He didn’t argue too much. The gifts were okay, but having her  there was really what he wanted. There was something so strangely comforting about the weight of another person in his bed. He was sleeping nearly whole nights again.

It did feel a little odd to meet with both Oni and Baz in his office. Pip had been working as his assistant for a few days now – she’d taken to the position quickly, as he expected, and proved to be much needed help. She sat in a small desk outside his office, mostly reviewing packages of information and scheduling things for him.

He closed the door so they could all have some privacy. “I assume,” he said, “That you two will likely be taking your leave soon?” It seemed like a professional way to start the conversation. The reality was that he and Oni had discussed the matter in bed the evening prior – they were planning to leave in the next few days.

“We are.” Baz said, smiling at him. “Unfortunately I need to return to my duties at Nivo. You and your crew have been incredibly hospitable to both Oni and I. Far more than we’ve deserved, considering how this situation spiraled out of control.”

Hux shook his head. “Absolutely not, you two, as I have said, are always welcome on my ship. I’m glad we were able to meet up again.”

“And if you or your crew are ever near Nivo, you are always welcome to visit me.”

Oni inhaled deeply. “I have a matter I wanted to discuss with you, Hux.”

“Hm?”

“TizoTech has been considering opening an engineering branch specifically to work on cutting edge design work, primarily for ships. We’ve dabbled in the area, but have always had to hire out the engineering portion. I think it is time for the company to finally make that leap.”

He hesitated. “You want to offer Cerys a position?”

Oni smiled a little. “Yes, in fact I would like to offer positions to any of your crew who may be interested. We can find room for any of them in my company.” She paused. “In particular, Hux, I would like to offer you a position.”

He looked at her for a few long moments. “Me?”

She smirked. “Yes, you. My hope, actually, is that you might be interested in leading the division.” She shrugged.  “I don’t need an answer now, but the offer is open. We can discuss details at another time, I don’t want to bore Baz too much.”

At a later time. Tonight.

He nodded slowly. “That’s a generous offer, Oni. I… I have to think about it.” Generous was understatement of the year. It was a more generous offer than when her father offered him command of his own ship in the Chiss Defense Fleet, when he was only a Major. He was stupid enough to turn that offer down years ago.

He would very seriously need to consider this.

Pip’s voice beeped through the intercom:  “Sir, you have a guest here that would  like to speak with you…”

He sighed a little. “I’m sorry, I still don’t quite have her trained.” He replied to Pip: “Pip, I already told you, no interruptions during this meeting. We’ll be out shortly…”

“Er… but… sir… I really think…”

He cut her off: “No, Pip. They can wait. We’re almost done here…”

The voice that came through the intercom was not Pip’s, but a very familiar calm, accented man’s voice: “Hux, it is good to hear your voice again. Are Baz and Oni in there with you?”

He took his hands off the intercom button like it’d suddenly turned scalding hot. He looked at Baz and Oni. “He’s still _alive?”_

They both returned blank looks. “Yes, of course he is. He’s only in his 70’s… I mean he’s starting to get old, but you know how he is, Hux. He’s a sharp mind, he’s going to be around for awhile.”

He scrambled to the door quickly, opening it for the man. “Sir…”

Pip sat at her desk, her eyes utterly huge with shock. An aged Thrawn stood in front of the desk, a calm smile on his face. Next to him…

Hux tried not to let his tone change to one of mild fright, but utterly failed. “Nev?” It really wasn’t supposed  to be a question.

The woman smiled at him, a smirk that understood exactly what he was feeling: near panic. Thrawn was one thing but Nev… Had the two reconciled after Oni was recovered? Their relationship was incredibly rocky last he’d seen them.

Thrawn strode toward them, “I believe we have matters to discuss privately. I understand you all have been after something of mine.”

Nev remained near Pip’s desk. “This is yours to handle, Thrawn. I will be out here.” She waved nonchalantly.

Thrawn ushered them all back into Hux’s office and closed the door. Oni gave him a sheepish grin. Baz looked extremely unhappy.

“I take it, Hux, that these two asked for you assistance tracking down the cloning equipment?”

“Equipment?” Baz scowled at him. “There was much more than equipment there.”

There was a knock at the door. Hux opened it.

 

**

 

The look on his father’s face when he saw the younger Chiss was actually readable – shock. And maybe even a little fear.

The look on Thrass’s face was similar, but even more pronounced.

His father actually hesitated. “Hux, I am sorry to ask, but would you mind allowing us to utilize your office privately for a moment? I believe I need to speak privately with…”

Hux seemed desperate to get out of the situation. He stepped out quickly. Thrass stood frozen in the doorway. Oni was barely able to close the door behind him.

Nobody said anything for a few moments. Baz took the liberty of opening up. “I think I speak for everyone here when I say we would like an explanation.”

His father kept his eyes trained on the young Chiss. “I’m certain you want answers…”

“You… you are _very_ old.” Thrass managed to churn out a short sentence, breathless.

Thrawn nodded a little. “Yes. I am.”

“You look like our grandfather.”

“You are one of the only people who would know that.”

Thrass looked at him, wide-eyed. He motioned to himself.  “I’m older than you.”

Thrawn inhaled a little. “No, I think that’s an important distinction to make. Your prime was older than me. You are certainly not.”

Thrass’s mouth hung open for a moment. He snapped it shut, the next question coming out with a heavy layer of fear: “What have you done to me?”

Thrawn nodded calmly. “You don’t remember? I programmed a memory implant that would have left you with an understanding of the cloning process and what exactly you are, but it seems the process must have been cut short by the accident on D’Skor…”

The noise that came out of Thrass’s mouth wasn’t Basic or Cheunh – it was panic. He turned quickly and opened the door, storming out of the room. Thrawn took a step toward him to stop him, but Thrass turned back to him, motioning to him violently, “You are trouble. You always have been. Stay away, I do not want you here.”

With that, he left them all.

After awhile, Baz spoke. “I have been trying to find any logical reason for you to do this. I can’t see one.”

“Baz,” his mother chided him, “I think you may be looking at this in the wrong manner…”

“I’m not looking at this the wrong way. I completely understand. Neither Oni or I can carry on your family line. So you made someone who could.”

His head was starting to hurt. He didn’t want to be around Thrawn. He left.

 

**

 

Pip was shocked when Thrass stormed out of the office, fuming. She was even more shocked when Baz left after a few very harsh words to his father.

The level of tension in the room was palpable, but what was worse – she had a good feeling she knew what was said in the room. She understood why Thrass was angry enough to storm out. And she was worried about him.

She slowly made her way out of her desk, hoping she wouldn’t be noticed.

Oni spoke, in Cheunh, looking up at her father with wide eyes. It was strange; her voice was strained, nearly broken. She looked like she was about to start crying.

Pip snuck out the doorway and went after Thrass. Best leave them to discuss these things in private. Thrass, on the other hand, just needed someone he could speak to. And if the past few weeks had taught her anything, she was one of the only people he felt like he could speak with.

She knocked on the door to his cabin. He didn’t answer.

Not that she was fond of invading people's privacy, but one of the perks of working for Hux was that she had access to a lot of private information… like the passcode to his door. She opened it and poked her head in. “Thrass?”

He sat on the sofa, his head in his hands, fingers digging into his hair. He looked confused to see her.

“Can I come in?”

He looked at her for a few moments. “You are here.”

It was his way of saying: “You’re standing in my goddamn doorway, you may as well come in.”

She stepped in and closed the door. “How are you feeling?”

His expression didn’t change.

She sighed and sat next to him. “I know you’re probably upset and confused and angry…”

“Heh.”

She was a little sad when she realized it was the closest she’d ever come to hearing him laugh. “… and you’re probably very hurt. But it might help you to talk about it. At least to say it aloud.” She paused, looking at him. “You don’t even have to speak in Basic, you can just talk at me in your language if you think it’ll make you feel better.”

He didn’t respond.

“Was that… your brother?”

He made a noise – something between a whine and a growl – and rubbed his face. “Yes.”

“What did he say to you?”

“I knew.” He shook his head. “I knew… something is wrong with… me.”

“Nothing’s _wrong_ with you.” She looked at him quietly. “That’s probably an important thing for you to realize.”

He frowned like he completely disagreed with her. He looked away. “I did not think my brother would...” He trailed off, maybe because he didn’t know the words or maybe because he couldn’t say them. “I do not understand.”

“Did you ask him why?”

He frowned. “No. No. I do not want…” He growled a little. “No speaking. To him. No.”

“You’re never going to know why he did this if you don’t speak to him about it.”

“Mm.” He looked away from her again. He was leaning forward, his hands on his knees, fingers woven together. They were shaking.

“What are you afraid of?”

He glanced to her quickly.

She shrugged. “What’s the worst thing he could tell you?”

“What happened to… me? Can I return home? What happened to him? What… what did he do?” He shook his head. “Thrawn causes trouble. Always.”

“You’re afraid he may have been involved in your death?”

“Hm. Yes. Maybe. Thrawn causes trouble.” He paused, then went to find his datapad to look up what he needed to say. “I worried his…” he searched for the word, “… reckless… aggressive… actions would end his life. It did not happen to him… but maybe me.”

She hated to admit it, but that actually would make a terrible amount of sense. If Thrawn was in some fashion responsible for Thrass’s death, it would make sense that he might go to such extreme lengths to make amends.

Thrass shook his head. “I do not want to know. I do not remember many things. But I remember him. If his actions ended my life..." He shook his head again, looking weak. "The memories have different meaning."


	13. Chapter 13

Cerys glanced into the room toward the old Chiss. “He’s a little intimidating though, isn’t he?” She said quietly.

Pip nodded. From all the reading she'd done on the man, she imagined he was likely a fearsome warrior in his prime. Now that she’s actually met him, she realized that was very wrong: He  _still_ was.

Cerys inhaled, like she was trying to inflate herself. “I mean… it’s a complete missed opportunity if we don’t go talk to him. The man’s a legend, and he’s standing right over there.” She shrugged. “And apparently my father knew him. We have an in. We can't not talk to him.”

“I know. I can think of a million questions.  But he’s also got some… family things going on right now and I don’t know how appropriate it would be for us to bombard him with questions while he’s dealing with all this.”

Cerys looked back into the room. “Yes, you’re right. How’s Thrass doing? I haven’t seen him leave his cabin since Thrawn showed up.”

“I think he’s dealing with the issue the only way he knows how to deal with it.”

“By avoiding it?”

“Yes.” She gave a weak smile. “Honestly, I think he needs time to come to terms with it himself before he can confront his brother. I do feel for him… can you imagine? He’s terribly confused.” She didn't want to go into details, but she'd spent a good portion of the past few days with Thrass, talking over everything that was happening. He was afraid. The few very clear memories he had were all connected to his brother. He felt that if he found out his brother's recklessness had ended his life those memories would be tarnished.

“Mm.” Cerys nodded. “It’s a good thing he has you around. He seems to trust you.” She paused, something catching her attention. “Oh… dad.”

Hux stood before them, a small smile on his face. His facial hair was starting to grow back. Pip was thankful for that.

He put a hand on each of their shoulders. “Why don’t you two come with me? I haven’t made a formal introduction yet.”

"Are you sure?" Cerys glanced into the room nervously.

"Of course." He guided them into the room. “Nev, Thrawn, I’m sorry to interrupt. I haven’t had a chance to introduce you to these two yet.” He motioned to Cerys, who looked mildly terrified. “This is my daughter, Cerys.”

“What a lucky girl, you got your father’s hair color.” Nev shook her hand. “It’s lovely to meet you, dear. You must have been born before I met your father?”

“I didn’t know about her,” Hux said. “I only found out about her around the time of the war.” He pushed Pip forward a little, “And this is my assistant, Pipista Uru. She’s been a great help watching over Thrass since we picked him up. She’s largely the reason he can speak Basic as well as he does now.”

Thrawn nodded to her. “Is that so? I appreciate your kindness toward him. I’m certain he needed someone he could speak with.”

She nodded stiffly. “It wasn’t a problem, really.” She paused. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to… gush… but I’ve always had a side interest in Imperial history, I do a great deal of reading on the subject and I sort of hoped you might be open to answering a few of my questions…”

“Mine too,” Cerys chimed in. “I’m an engineer, I’ve always been a huge fan of your work on the starfighters with the Empire.”

The momentary silence felt like it stretched for eons.

He tilted his head, smiling a little. “Of course, I would be happy to answer your questions.”

“I had no idea you were Oni Sebai’s father…” Cerys remarked, almost sounding giddy.

“Oni prefers to keep these matters private. But yes, I am.”

“The records of your involvement with the Empire are so difficult to find,” Pip said. “It’s like a scavenger hunt trying to find any information on what you did with them.”

“Hm. Palpatine was not entirely fond of me toward the end of my time with the Empire. I imagine he destroyed a good deal of the official reports involving me.”

“Considering your rank, that must have taken a good deal of effort.”

“Hm. Considering the number of times I was court marshaled it must have taken a great deal of effort.”

“You… what?” The comment caught Pip off guard.

“You were court marshaled? More than once?” Cerys asked.

“For what?” Pip added.

She couldn't tell if he was flattered or thought they were being funny, but he smiled a little.

 

**

 

The two girls bombarded Thrawn with questions for a couple hours. Armitage thought back to the favor Thrawn had offered in exchange for helping Oni, years and years ago. He never intended to call that favor in, if he ever were to... this would have been what he wanted. The man was incredibly cordial to both of them, and seemed more than happy to answer their questions. Armitage actually started to wonder if he was enjoying it a little – the two were absolutely fawning over him.

“If you don’t mind me asking a question,” Thrawn said politely to Cerys, “who is your mother?”

Whoops.

“Her name was Vale Mazelle, she left the Order shortly after I was conceived.”

As Armitage expected, Thrawn made no reaction. He looked at her for a few moments, then nodded. “Vale Mazelle…” He turned to Hux. “You seem to have an affinity for women who can get you into trouble.”

Pip did her best to hide a snort of laughter.

“Oh… You knew her?” Cerys suddenly looked sincerely curious. Since they’d started working in the Guard, she had the privilege of meeting a few people who knew who her mother was; she always had questions. She’d once talked with Sebbie for nearly two whole hours on the subject, which was somewhat comical considering Sebbie hadn’t really known Vale, he’d just known of her. She was cautious to bring it up to people, he suspected out of fear that it would reflect negatively on him. He explained to her more than once that she shouldn’t worry about that, but she was still very reserved when it came to speaking of the matter.

Thrawn gave a slight nod. “I did. Not well, but I did have the benefit of meeting her a few times. Her husband was heavily involved in the First Order’s dealings with the Chiss, so I knew him quite well. He was not…” Thrawn hesitated. “He was not kind to her, that much was very clear even to an outsider. She was an intelligent woman the little I spoke to her; I’m not certain what drove her to stay with someone who treated her so poorly. It seems you may have been what saved her from that.”

Pip’s attention had wandered off – she was looking at the doorway. Thrass was there. Thrawn paused, looking at him for a moment. “My apologies for cutting our conversation short. I’m afraid I need to speak with Thrass. Would you all mind giving us some privacy?”

“We’ll be joining you two for this conversation.” Baz and Oni stepped into the room behind him. Baz had gone dark on them all after the initial meeting. Oni spent the evening with him – she was clearly distraught by what had happened and didn’t quite know how to cope with it. He never really realized how much not being able to have children had affected her. The more he listened to her speak about it the more he realized it was something very deep-seeded, something very painful for her. This entire fiasco with Thrass had only made it worse.

Hux suspected she was wrong in her assumption about her father's motives for cloning his brother. If one thing was certain, it was that the man adored his daughter. He’d seen Thrawn ram a Force user’s head into a metal wall to protect her.

 

**

 

Baz had been told many, many times in his life that he resembled his father very closely.  This was one of the few times he’d ever hoped that meant he looked as intimidating as Thrawn when he was angry. His motive for cloning his brother were still very unclear, but he was pretty certain it was because without Thrass, his family line would have ended with Oni and Baz.

It wasn’t that he never wanted children. On the contrary, he wanted a family terribly. He and Theol were making plans to adopt shortly before he passed. But in the wake of his death… it just seemed like something unimaginable. He certainly wasn’t equip to be a single father.

He was upset that his father would do such a cruel thing to him. Not only was he still grieving the loss of Theol, he was grieving the loss of whatever family they would have built together.

But even worse than that was what this was doing to his sister. Oni couldn’t reproduce by no fault of her own, the bastards who kept her enslaved as a child had taken the ability from her. It weighed heavily on her – she wanted a child so terribly she’d even undergone a somewhat risky procedure to attempt to fix what they had taken from her. Unfortunately the procedure wasn’t effective, and she’d had to abandon that hope.

Thrawn's actions were cruel to him. They were downright atrocious to Oni, who had a much closer relationship with their father and felt like she’d been forsaken by the man she'd adored since she was a little girl.

Their father waited patiently for the room to clear and the door to close, leaving the four of them in a tense circle.

He inhaled deeply, looking at he and Oni. “You both are under a terribly, terribly incorrect impression. I am not certain what would lead you to such an insidious conclusion. I would _never_ do such a thing…”

“Well then please explain. Because all of us would really like to know what exactly you were thinking.” Baz said flatly.

Thrawn glanced to Thrass quickly. “If I may be honest, neither of you were a consideration when I made the decision to clone my brother. The decision was made around the time I left the Empire, long before either of you were born. In that time, the Chiss were facing a very powerful evil in the Unknown Regions. I was sent on a mission to the Empire with one of two outcomes: to form an alliance with the Empire if they were suitable, or help destroy the Empire so the evil we were facing might choose to consume them, giving the Chiss more time to prepare. The first option, obviously, was the most preferable. But it did not come to be, and I left the Empire feeling as though I had failed my people, and the people of the galaxy as a whole.”

He paused, and shook his head. “That level of destruction is never preferable. It was a time in which I was very reflective on the choices I made, and could only see destruction in my wake. I thought maybe there was something I could give to the Chiss, so that when my life came to an end they would certainly be better off. I chose to return my brother to them.”

The room was very silent for a moment.

“My brother,” Thrawn continued, “was brilliant. He was a force of good for the Chiss, and he would have done amazing things for them had his life not ended prematurely. So…” he turned to the clone, “That is why I created you. It had nothing to do with my children, but everything to do with helping our people.”

The much younger Chiss looked back at him for a few very long moments.

“I hope you will understand, I never intended for this to happen the way it happened. Your time in growth – particularly the memory implementation process - was cut short, presumably by the accident on D’Skor. You were supposed to be “born”, so to speak, with full knowledge of the fact that you were a clone and why I had created you. I don’t know that an apology could ever make amends for… for the error.”

Thrass crossed his arms, looking away. “What happened to me?”

"As I said to you before, I think it is important you make the distinction: You are not your Prime. You are a different person, your own person. You have his mind, and his body, but you do not have his experiences. That is what will make you an individual. As for what happened to your prime… the details are still unclear to me, and to our people. I’m afraid the exact circumstances may be lost forever. He went missing on a mission… I suspect he may have been forced to sacrifice himself in order to help some people he was trying to protect. It is something he would have done.”

Thrass gave a stiff nod. “You weren’t involved?”

“I was involved, but at a distance. I believe you know enough of our relationship to understand that if there were anything I could have done to save him, I would have done it.” He paused again. “We were always very different people. I would not have sacrificed myself to save others, because it would have rendered me useless in future endeavors. It is likely direct evidence that your Prime was a much better person than I could hope to be. However, I would have easily sacrificed myself to save _you_ , had the opportunity presented itself.”

 

**

 

Sebbie leaned back in his sofa, taking a drink from his beer. “So… your dad had a midlife crisis and cloned his brother?”

“Er… yes. I hadn’t really thought of it that way, but yes, that sounds about right.”

He laughed. “I mean, I suppose someone as exceptional as your father would have to have a hell of a midlife crisis.”

“I suppose so.” He sighed a little. “At some point I have to give up trying to understand, right? I mean… it’s better than what Oni and I were thinking his reasoning was.”

“What was that?”

“We assumed it was because neither of us were going to carry on his line.”

“Oh… you can’t?”

“No, no. Oni can’t. I was going to… Theol and I were going to. But…”

Sebbie shook his head. “Sorry. Let’s talk about something else.” He paused. “I assume this means you’re leaving soon?”

“Yes, I’m planning to head back to Nivo with my mother in a few days.”

He tried to not let himself be too flattered when Sebbie’s smile faltered a little. A question was buzzing in the back of his mind, but he couldn’t quite bring himself to ask. Sebbie’s answer would be simple: either yes or no. Both answers scared him a little.

Sebbie was looking at him with a crease in his brow. “Is something wrong?”

“No, I’m good. It’s just… Is this a date?”

A smile cracked onto his face and he laughed a little, leaning back in his seat again. “I don’t know. Do you want it to be?”

He didn’t want to answer that question. “Do you?”

Sebbie laughed. “Do I have to kiss you again to get the point across?”

Baz looked at him for a long moment. He did have the best smile Baz thought he’d ever seen. He remembered thinking that years ago when he first met the guy. What was even better, he smiled a lot. He laughed a lot.

“I think you might have to.”

Making him smile was something of a treat in itself, but when he stood and leaned across the table and took Baz’s face between his hands and finally kissed him again, Baz found himself… happy. Remarkably happy.

He held his face there for just a moment, then backed away just slightly, still smiling. “I do have to ask though… do you usually bring your pets on dates?”

He looked down at the ysalamir lying between them, curled up in his lap.

“He was getting really restless on Oni’s ship…”

Sebbie just laughed and kissed him again.

 

**

 

There was something so intensely comforting about being in bed with Oni. In many ways, she had changed. She was a little more passive than she used to be. Sometimes. Other times…

She pushed him back against the headboard – not with any force, just a gentle pressure on his chest with her fingertips. She didn’t need to use any force, he would have obliged just about anything she wanted at the moment.

Her fingertips trailed up his chest, over his neck and to his chin, where she tipped is face upward and kissed him. And then she stopped.

She backed away from him. He had to forcefully stop himself from giving a pathetic whimper, begging her to come back.

She smirked at him. “You have not given me your answer yet.”

He tried to gather his thoughts. He was more focused on the task at hand than the world outside this bedroom. “I… er… what?”

She laughed a little and beckoned him over. He obliged gladly, until she pressed her fingertips into his chest again, keeping him just too far too touch but close enough to tease him  with kisses. “Your answer, Armitage. Do you accept my offer?”

“Oni, don’t ask me questions like that at a time like this…”

“Mm…” She kissed him again. “Why not now?”

He tried to inch a little closer, but she kept him just a little too far away. “This is practically bribery.”

“Will it work?” She granted him another kiss. “I am not opposed to playing dirty in this scenario if it will work.”

He paused, looking at her for a moment.

“Yes. Yes, I think it will work.”

Her fingertips let up and he crawled over her, pulling her close.

He’d turned down an unreasonably generous offer from her father years ago, simply out of pride. He would not make the same mistake with her, years later.

 

“It was a pleasure to see you both again.” Hux said to both Nev and Thrawn. Some little piece of him was inordinately happy Oni wasn’t leaving with them.  She planned on staying there a few more days to finish a security system audit she’d offered to do for their organization.  He suspected she was prolonging the process just to spend more time with him, but he wasn’t about to mention it. Anything that kept her around a little longer was perfectly okay with him.

“Likewise.” Thrawn tipped his head cordially. It was so strange to see him as an old man. “It appears you have done good things in your time since the Order. It makes me regret that I was never able to pull you into the Chiss Defense Fleet.”

Thinking about what may have happened had he taken Thrawn’s offer years ago gave him a headache. No Cerys, no Mila… In the end, he made the right decision.

“You made me a generous offer, but I think I made the right decision for myself at the time, even in spite of all that happened with the Order.”

“Hm.” Thrawn’s eyes trailed off to the corner of the room, where the clone stood.  “If you’ll both excuse me, I believe I need to give Thrass a proper goodbye.”

As he walked away from them, Nev turned to him. “Will you walk with me, Hux?”

Thrawn was intimidating, even in his old age. Tall, with fearsome red eyes and a powerful build. Nev was somehow infinitly more intimidating than him.

“Certainly.”

He followed by her side as they made their way onto the return ship.

“You seem to have changed a great deal since we last spoke.” She said.

“Yes… well, a lot has happened. Cerys is a very large part of it.”

“Oni tells me you’re going to join her company?”

“Yes, she made me a very generous offer. It will take me a little time to process out of my role here, but I’ll be joining her company shortly to help her develop an engineering branch. She also made an offer to my daughter, it sounds like she will be joining as well.”

She nodded slowly. “Do you recall our last private conversation?”

How could he forget? She’d blatantly expressed her distaste for his relationship with Oni and told him he was being a fool. “I do.”

“Do you recall what I told you?”

He cleared his throat a little. Did she know that he and Oni were involved again? Surely Oni wouldn’t have told her? The last thing he needed was to have to defend himself to her. “I believe you mentioned that I wasn’t necessarily the best match for Oni.”

She frowned. “No. No, you are remembering entirely incorrectly. I never said that you were not a suitable match.” She paused before the door to enter their ship. “I told you that you were the right man at the wrong time.”

He wasn’t quite sure how to respond. She looked back at him challengingly, her arms crossed. Her fingers tapped on the arm of her jacket, like she was waiting very impatiently for him to respond.

He inhaled deeply. “I…”

She waved quickly, cutting him off. “Take that as you will, Hux. It was lovely to see you again.”

On that odd note, she boarded their ship.

He stood for a moment, in stunned silence. Did he just get Nev’s approval?

 

**

 

Baz felt strangely ansty as he looked at their ship. They were leaving soon. As in a few minutes. This was goodbye. He was never good with goodbyes.

“So, this is it, hm?” Sebbie asked casually. He kept trying to make jokes about it, but he seemed a little sad. Or maybe Baz was just projecting.

“I guess… yes. It was really, really good to see you again, Sebbie.”

It felt so short-lived. Too short-lived. He wished they had more time.

“Look… Seb… if you’re ever in the area… near Nivo… and you have some time… I know it’s sort of out of the way, but I’d love to…”

“How far is Nivo from here?”

“Maybe three days, if you have a fast ship.”

He nodded a little. “I mean… I have some vacation time I need to take…”

“Oh?”

“How does next weekend sound?”

 

**

 

Thrass found himself watching the old man closely as he walked with him. The old man. His younger brother. It was so strange.

“I’m still surprised you chose to remain here rather than return to Chiss space. I would be happy to accompany you back to our home. I can assure you that whenever you are ready, they will welcome you.”

“Thank you. I do intend to return soon, but for now I think it is best that I remain here. I feel I owe these people my service for at least a little while. I somehow became the center of this mess. It is partially my responsibility to make amends for that.”

“That is a peculiar way of admitting you’ve made friends.”

He smiled. “I will admit they were a factor in my decision. The few people I remember from our home are likely gone now.”

“Yes, most that you would remember are gone.”

He hesitated. “There is another question I had for you, brother.”

“Yes?”

“Why did you choose to place me here, rather than closer to Chiss space?”

Thrawn smiled a little. “That is a good question. I suppose that of the two of us, I always had the reputation of being a little more… adventurous. Curious about outsiders.”

Thrass almost laughed. Calling Thrawn adventurous would be understatement of the year.

His brother continued. “The first time we met a group of humans, something very interesting happened. I was intrigued by their habits, by how foreign they were. But strangely enough, I think your Prime was even more fascinated by them than I was. They are an interesting species, perhaps because there are so many of them throughout the galaxy so you see such a wide variety in their mannerisms and personalities. Generally speaking, they are far less reserved than Chiss, and tend to be much more… emotionally intelligent, I suppose one could say.” He paused for a moment. “I made the decision to place you far from the Chiss, in an area heavily populated with humans, because I wanted you to have the chance to discover them as well.”

He looked back at his brother. “The woman who mothered your children…”

“Nev. She has a name, you can call her by it.”

“Nev.” He paused, not sure how to ask what he wanted to ask. “I never would have expected you to have children with an outsider.”

“I never expected myself to find anyone like Nev. She has been a good mother to my children, and a reliable partner. The humans have a name for it – she is my wife.”

“Wife? What does that mean?”

“It’s really somewhat interesting; they have a custom called _marriage_. Two individuals create this official bond, dedicating themselves solely to the other for life. I married Nev when she asked if I would… many, many years ago when Oni was still a little girl, before Baz was even born.”

This was somewhat interesting to him. Dedicated mates weren’t unheard of among Chiss – it was common for two individuals who had children in order to form a stable home for them. But it was by no means “official”, it was simply a logical necessity for building a strong society. Interestingly, among Chiss those relationships usually ended once children were removed from the picture. Romantic relationships were often seen as a waste of time. Once the necessity of a stable home for children was gone most pairs split ways so they could further focus on their own matters.

“That is… strange. And you are happy with this arrangement?”

“I am. It does require me to travel between Csilla and her home quite frequently. I have spent a good deal of my life living between the two worlds. But I would not change that, even if I could.”

He was quiet for a moment. “What are they like?”

“Humans?” He paused, looking at Thrass for a long moment. “Anatomically they are basically identical to Chiss. I assume that is what you’re asking about.”

“What? No, no… that’s not what I was…”

“They’re warm.”

The statement almost seemed strange in its simplicity. He’d noticed Pip’s hands were unusually warm.

“I mean that both literally and metaphorically. It is quite strange, and very comforting at the same time.” He tilted his head. “I find it very odd, I don’t know that attraction is a genetic trait, but your Prime did always have a preference for short women as well.”

“What does that have to… Pip? No. I don’t know what would make you think…”

His brother just looked back at him, like it was useless.

He snapped his jaw shut. “She’s been kind to me. I don’t know that anything is to come of it, but…”

“If you are half the man your Prime was, something certainly will come of it.” A smile passed across his face. “He was quite charming, such things were never an issue for him.”

He looked at his brother for a long moment, nearly laughing. This conversation, or maybe just the feeling – brotherhood – was so strongly familiar and so comforting.

“I will miss you, brother.”

“I am certain you will keep busy here. And you are always welcome to visit Nev and I on Nivo. Or if you’d prefer to return to Csilla I can arrange that.” He looked at him for a moment. “I must confess, in spite of what you have suffered, I am somewhat happy this came about. I didn’t intend for you to really exist until I was gone, but it is… it is nice to speak with you.”

“As strange as it all is, I am happy you are here for me to speak with.”

Thrawn was quiet for a moment. “Your Prime, as I said before, was a brilliant man. You have his mind. Please do not put that to waste.”

He bowed his head. “I will not, I assure you.” There were so many things to say, but he just couldn’t find the right words for any of it. “It feels strange that you will not be by my side. Even when we were at ends, you were by my side.”

“This possibly returns to my prior point. You are not your Prime. The experiences you have throughout your life will make you into an individual, so go have them.  Lots of them. And do good things for our people. This time I will not be around to cause problems for you.”

Thrawn smiled a little when he said it, but the statement nearly broke Thrass. He – his Prime – had always worried that his brother would get himself killed before his time had come. Now Thrass had to watch him lose his life to age. Even worse, all the while he himself was perfectly young and healthy.

“I will be sure to visit you soon.” It was all he could manage to say.

Thrawn bowed his head a little. His voice was an odd mix of sadness and relief. “Regardless of the circumstances surrounding your existence, you will always be my brother. I have missed you.” He shook his head. "The fact that you are alive is really nothing short of a miracle. Please make the most of this life."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Currently debating: do I give you guys the epilogue today, or do I wait until tomorrow? Hm....


	14. Four Months Later...

Cohren walked around Oni’s ship with Rooney. "Ship" didn’t seem quite like the right word. It was really only a ship by technicality. It was also the headquarters of her company, more akin to a giant metropolis floating in space. Technically, it was also their new home. Oni made he and Sev job offers too good to turn down. For Cohren, it was a position as a test pilot for the crafts the new engineering wing would be developing. For Sev, she’d offered a position in the design and graphics division of her company. The pay for both positions was overtly generous as well, to the point that he felt a little guilty accepting. Baz and Oni both made it clear they felt somewhat responsible for what had happened to his brother. He’d never seen it as their fault – everything had just spiraled out of control due to factors none of them could have predicted.

Nonetheless, on top of the job offers, they’d insisted on taking care of Rooney by gifting her a very unnecessary fund to cover any of her needs until she became an adult, and to take care of any schooling she would ever need. He tried to turn it down, but they insisted. Honestly, he was a little grateful for it. He’d never in his life intended on raising a child and had no clue what he was doing with her. It was something of a relief to know he could focus his energy on figuring out how to be a parent rather than worrying about money.

It took some time, but it finally sank in with Rooney that her father would not come back. She accepted he and Sev as sort of makeshift parents.

Another thing he was endlessly grateful for: Sev. In no sense of the word was Sev fatherly or parent-like, but Rooney loved him and he was really good at communicating with her and making her happy. Raising her would be hard, but having Sev around to help made it seem less intimidating. In the months since the incident, Sev had regained some of his memory. It was a slow process, and it was very frustrating for Sev, but Cohren at least had some hope that he might get more back. He still didn’t remember them meeting. He still had no idea where his lightsaber came from. But he remembered meeting Rooney, and Merik. Just a few weeks prior he remembered meeting Cohren’s mother. There was hope.

And even if it didn’t all come back, they at least had their future to look forward to together.

The others also accepted potions here, making the move even easier on them. Hux was leading the new engineering division of the company, and naturally Cerys accepted a good position within the wing. Iz took a position within the medical wing of the ship. It was something that still amazed Cohren – this headquarters ship housed nearly 2000 people. They actually needed a hospital aboard the ship to take care of their people.

Pip, much to everyone’s surprise, actually accepted a position as Hux’s assistant. He’d been trying to coax her into working for him since Iz had first brought her home with them. Hux had nothing but good things to say about her, and Pip had nothing to say about him other than that he was unorganized and should have gotten himself an assistant years ago.

Another surprise came with Thrass, who also came along with them. Within a month of his rescue he was holding decent conversations with them all. Four months in, he was more or less fluent. He’d (understandably) been under a great deal of stress when he first came into their lives. Given some time to process everything that happened to him, he actually became a fast addition to their group. There was a massive shift in his personality as he grew more comfortable with them. When they first met, he was very stubborn and a little pompous. Pip, who spent a good deal of time with him when he first joined them, explained it as a coping mechanism. He was so confused and frightened at the time that he came across a little harshly. Now, just a few months later, he was one of the most charming people Cohren ever thought he’d met. He was very well mannered, fantastic at communicating even in a language not his own, and intimidatingly intelligent.

He also quite attractive, an observation of his that Sev picked up on while rooting around in his mind once and hadn’t ceased to tease him about since.

Because he was so adept at dealing with people Oni gave him a management position within her company, specifically working on dealings with the Chiss, who she seemed to do a good deal of business with. He continued to say he would return to them someday soon, but hadn’t really spoken of an exact timeline.  He seemed happy where he was at the moment.

Rooney tugged on his pant leg, making a fussy noise. He looked down at her. She was pointing down one of the hallways.

Sev and Iz were standing down the hallway. Iz leaned against the wall, a frown on his face. Sev stood with his arms crossed, scowling at a door.

Rooney practically drug him over to them.

“Sev… come on. I don’t want to think about this.”

“What’s going on here?” The expressions on both their faces nearly made him nervous. Clearly something was wrong.

Sev didn’t take his eyes off the door, like he might be able to scare it open if he gave it a mean enough look. “That’s Pip’s room.”

“Oh.” He looked at the door. “And?”

Iz rubbed his forehead. “This is too much for me.”

“Pip and I have breakfast together at the same time every day. And I always sleep in and she comes to our cabin to find me.” He paused and motioned to the door. “I woke up late today… on my own. She didn’t come to wake me up.”

“Maybe you should try using an alarm clock instead of Pip.” He laughed a little. “Is she sick or something?”

“That’s what I thought. So I came to check on her.” He motioned at the door again, in a near accusing manner. “There’s _two people_ in that room.”

Iz appeared to be in pain.

“Oh.” Cohren said.

Iz shook his head. “I don’t want to think about this. Let’s go, Sev.”

“Yeah, but who is it?” He stepped to the door and put his ear against it.  “Like… really. You didn’t know she was seeing anyone, did you Iz?”

“She hasn’t mentioned anything. I’m not too interested in keeping tabs on my little sister’s love life.”

“Look, Iz, your sister is a damn grown woman. She’s got to get laid every now and then…”

“Sev…” He subtly motioned to Rooney, hoping Sev would get the point but knowing he likely wouldn’t.

“Maybe I should knock on the door.” Sev stepped back.

“No. Nope. We should all just move along.”

Cohren looked at Iz. “You really aren’t even curious?”

“No, I really don’t even want to think about it.”

“What are you guys doing?” Cerys came down the hallway to them.

“Sev thinks there’s someone in Pip’s room with her.” Cohren explained to her.

“Oh.”

“Yeah, we’re trying to figure out who it is.” Sev said.

“No, _you’re_ trying to figure out who it is.” Iz said.

Cerys looked between the three of them. “Do you guys really not know?”

“Wait. What? _You_ know?” Sev sounded sincerely offended.

"Really?" Even Iz looked surprised she would know.

“Of course I know. Sev, I’m surprised you don’t know, of all people. You spend more time with her than any of us.”

“Who is it?”

She smirked a little. “Ah… I think I’ll let you figure that one out on your own.” She hooked an arm into Iz’s and started to drag him away. “Come on Iz, let’s go get breakfast.”

He seemed more than happy with the distraction.

Rooney tugged at Cohren's pantleg again. “I’m hungry.”

He looked at Sev. “Come on, let’s figure this out later.”

Sev frowned at the door for a few more minutes, then sighed loudly and grabbed Rooney, throwing her over his shoulder. “Yeah, yeah, the kid’s hungry. Let’s go!”

 

**

 

Warm. He understood now, why his brother chose that one word specifically. Pip was like a little ball of warmth, curled against his bare chest. He held her there, close. He was never the type to lie around in bed, but there was something so supremely peaceful about this. He wanted to curl around her and keep her there, like some sort of warm energy core.

He thought she was asleep, but after awhile he felt her eyelashes blinking against his skin.

“The others are outside the door. I can hear them.” He said quietly.

"Oh? What are they saying?” Her voice still sounded a little tired. He hoped she would fall asleep again, so he could stay like this a little longer.

“They wonder who is here with you.”

He could feel her smile.

“We have to tell them eventually,” he said.

“Hm. Yes. Let them wonder for a little while longer. It’s sort of funny.” She shifted against him and yawned. “Will you stay a little longer? This is nice.”

“Yes.” He finally let himself curl around her like he wanted to so badly. “Yes, I would like to stay.”

She stretched up against his body, pressing her lips to his. She had to explain the gesture to him - kissing. Not something Chiss did. He didn't mind it. On the contrary, her lips were soft and pleasant she always tasted faintly minty.

He finally let himself curl around her. This was nice.  Nice and warm.

 

**

 

The door to Hux’s cabin opened and Oni stepped in, unannounced. He’d grown so used to the odd habit he didn’t even really notice it any more. This was their usual meeting place, anyway.

It’d taken him three months to finish out everything with the Guard and transition to working for TizoTech. She’d made a point to visit him several times before he was able to make the transition, but their relationship was significantly easier now that the distance between them was no longer an issue. She usually spent a few nights a week with him. As much as either of them could spare – they both kept very busy with their business obligations.

He was seated at his table with a glass of whiskey and a datapad, finishing out a few last items for the day.

“Are you spending the night here?” He asked.

She froze, like the question caught her off guard. “I don’t know.”

“Mm. Okay. Do you want something to drink?”

“No.”

They both fell silent for a moment and he finished typing out a message to one of his colleagues. “I talked briefly with Sebbie earlier today. It sounds like good things are happening with he and your brother.”

“Oh.”

“He’s moving to Nivo.” He shook his head a little, responding to another message while he spoke. “Honestly, I’ve known the man for over half my life. I’ve never seen him like this about anyone he’s been with. I suspect we will hear good news from them soon.”

“Oh.”

He paused mid-message and looked at her. “I can’t believe I’m actually considering this, but I think Sebbie might propose to him. I never thought he was the type for marriage, but he’s really happy. Have you heard from Baz? Has he said anything about it?”

“Um… No. Yes. He seems very happy. I think you’re right.”

He looked at her for a moment. Her eyes were absolutely huge. She was afraid of something.

“Is something wrong?”

“I… um… I don’t know.” She fidgeted a little, looking incredibly nervous. She moved into the seat across from him at the table. “Let’s talk.”

“Okay.” He paused. “Did someone find out about us? We’ve been so discreet; I can’t imagine how anyone would have found out.” He hadn’t even told Cerys about the two of them. It seemed unnecessary to tell her. His daughter was busy with her own matters, and he preferred to keep this whole matter private anyway.

“No. That’s not… Can I speak for a moment?”

“Yes.” He took a drink, wondering what might be wrong with her. She was acting so strange.

She looked terrified that he’d agreed to listen to her. “Yes. Right. So.” She inhaled deeply. “There was this thing I told you about… the procedure I had done. Do you recall?”

“The procedure?” He thought for a moment. “Oh, yes, the fertility procedure.”

“Right. Yes. That one. And I said it didn’t work.”

“Right.”

She inhaled deeply again, looking away from him. “So… that may not have entirely been the case. All the tests at the time showed that the procedure had failed, but it appears the effect may have just been delayed…”

He watched her chatter on, not really hearing what she was saying.

She stopped chattering and looked at him, her eyes still huge and terrified.

“What?” He said.

She said something again, but he didn’t really hear it.

He shook his head and took another drink. “I’m sorry, what?”

She looked like she was nearly in tears. “Hux. I’m pregnant.”

He looked back at her for a very long moment. “What?”

“Please don’t ask me to say it a fourth time.”

He set his drink down and rubbed his mouth. “You’re…”

“Yes.”

“It’s mine?”

She blinked rapidly. “What sort of a question is that?”

He tried to take a deep breath, but it didn’t really work, his lungs were too tight. “What? No. But… Oni, I’m over 40 years old.”

“I am not exactly of prime age either, trust me I am just as shocked as you.” Her usually smooth voice was rocky frightened.

“My daughter… my daughter is probably going to start having kids with Iz in the next few years.” He barely managed to stumble through the words.

“I understand this is not ideal…”

“I’m supposed to be a grandfather soon."

She spread her fingers on the table and pushed herself upright, blinking back tears as she looked at him. “I understand that this is not ideal for you, Hux. But… this is something I have wanted for a very long time and I feel I would be a fool to deny it. If you do not wish to be involved I very much understand, but… but I am seeing this through.”

He looked up at her. He’d seen her afraid before. This was something different. She was afraid, but at the same time she was… fiery. Protective.

He shook his head quickly, “Oni, I wasn’t suggesting… I’m just…” He tried to find the right words. “I don’t know what to do.” He ended lamely.

Her expressions softened a little and she returned to her seat. “Then we feel the same way.” She tapped her fingertips on the table in the silence that fell between them. He had no idea what to say. “I suppose we should be clear about how this will happen upfront. Do you feel any… any desire to be a part of our life?”

Our life. It was such a strangely touching thing for her to say. She’d already completely accepted it. It was so strange and at the same time heartening to hear.

He thought about her question, probably much longer than she was comfortable with. “I’ve never really been around… babies.”

“Nor have I.”

“I didn’t get to see Cerys grow up. I’ve always thought that was the best thing for her… but at the same time I do wish… very, very terribly that I could have seen it. That I could have known her for her whole life.”

She looked back at him. “Is that a yes?”

It was a terrifying thing to have to say. “Yes. Yes, I think I would like to be. For both of you.”

She shook her head and looked away, blinking quickly. He noticed a few tears that she wiped away quickly. “Okay. Good. Thank you.” She sniffed a little. “Thank you. Hux, I’m terrified. I’m terrified that I could be this close to having something I’ve wanted so terribly and it might… it might slip through my fingers again.”

It crushed him to hear her admit it aloud. He stood and went to her, wiping the tears away. “No. Don’t. You shouldn’t… no. Oni, you can have access to any doctor in the entire galaxy. You’re going to be just fine. It’s going to be just fine. You don’t need to worry.”

She pressed her face into his hands, stifling a little sob. “I’m frightened.”

“You shouldn’t be. You’re not really that… old.” Could he handle this any more poorly? “What? You’re only… 38? 39? That’s not all that abnormal, I’ll make sure to find you the best doctors out there, we’ll monitor everything closely, you both are going to be just fine…”

She sniffed.

“Honestly, I’m far more concerned about the kid growing up… it’ll be closer in age to its nieces and nephews than its own sister. And I’m… we’ll I’m going to be practically geriatric by the time it’s an adult.”

He was flooded with a sense of relief when she laughed a little. “You’ll only be in your 60’s. That’s not… terrible.”

He hid small laugh by burying his nose into her hair. “Oni.”

“Hm?”

“Congratulations.” He kissed the top of her head. “I know this means a lot to you. And I’m… I’m very happy to be here to help you. Even if I’m completely terrified. I’m probably not going to be any help at all, really.”

She wrapped her arms around him, like she needed something to hold onto while everything else seemed to be spiraling out of control.  He didn’t feel like he was the most stable thing for her, but the least he could do was pretend to be a rock.

When she finally let go, he moved his chair closer and sat with her.

“My daughter is going to be thrilled. You should know that now.”

She seemed happier. That was good.  He wanted her happy. “I’m sure she will be. She is a good kid. Admittedly, I am happy the child will have her as a sister, even if it is as a much, much older sister.”

He rubbed his mouth. “She still doesn’t know about us. I think this is going to be a very big surprise to her.”

“When are you going to tell her?”

That was a fantastic question. “I don’t know. When would you like me to? I don’t want to do anything you’re uncomfortable with.”

“She is a smart girl, Armitage. She will piece it together quickly. You had best tell her soon, I think that is only fair to her so she knows what is going on. It may be best to let Iz know as well, since he will likely find out anyway. I would prefer if we don’t tell anyone other than them for a little while.”

He nodded slowly.

She hesitated. “There is one more thing.”

“Hm? Yes? What do you need?”

She looked away from him, down to her fingers, tapping on the table. She drug them forward, across the table, and tapped on his near empty glass.

“This needs to stop.”

He looked back at her for a long, silent moment.

“I thought it was a bit of a problem when we first met… I imagine the Starkiller and Mila’s death only really aggravated it. I understand. But if I am to raise a child with you, I need you present. At all times. No more of this.”

He rubbed his mouth, looking down at the glass. He understood, really. Cerys had talked to him about it more than once. It was an issue, he knew that much. He just avoided thinking about it, quite frankly because it was often the only way to get any worthwhile sleep.

She was right, though.

He pushed the glass to the center of the table. “Of course. Anything you need.”

What was the point of going through all this if he wasn’t going to really live it all, completely present, anyway?

 

 

 

It’d been three days since Oni gave him the news. Three days since his last drink. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d gone three days without drinking.

It really hadn’t been too hard so far – any time he started feeling the urge, he focused on the bigger picture. It might be difficult now, but it was necessary. Be damned, he would not prove Brendol right. He had a whole lot fucking more will power than the man ever gave him credit for.

But as he looked at his daughter, sitting across from him in a cozy looking brown chair in she and Iz’s quarters, he had an urge to relapse stronger than any of the other days. It really, really would make this conversation easier.

Focus on the big picture.

He inhaled deeply. “So… I have some news for you.”

“Oh?” She smiled at him, trying to hide what he knew was mild concern. “Is everything okay? Are you okay?”

“Yes. Yes.”  He really didn’t feel okay. “Listen… I haven’t been very open about this, I tend to keep very private about these matters. But I think it’s time that I start being more forward with you about these things, more out of necessity than anything…”

Her smile twisted a little. “Are you trying to tell me about you and Oni?”

“Er…”

She laughed a little. “I’ve known you two were together for awhile now. I saw her kiss you after you’d been rescued during the whole incident with Thrass.”

“Oh.”

“I’m really happy for you. Really. You deserve something like this. After Mila passed, you sort of isolated yourself. I think this is really good for you. You deserve to be happy. And you shouldn’t be alone.”

“Er… thank you. I guess that takes the first thing off my list…”

“The first thing?” She gasped a little, her eyes lighting up. “Oh! Are you two getting married?!”

“No. No.” He shook his head quickly, doing his best to not sound horrified. “No.”

It was something he could never explain because he still, after all these years, couldn’t bring himself to tell her Mila had proposed. She proposed then stepped outside and took a bullet to her head. That path was cursed for him. He would never go near it again.

She deflated a little. “Oh. What is it?”

He still felt dizzy, detached, when he thought of it. He had to force himself forward. “Something… unexpected… has happened. I’m hoping you’ll be understanding, this isn’t really… ideal for anyone… But…”

She looked very confused.

He sighed a little, barely managing to push out a quick, weak sounding question. “How would you feel about… being a sister?”

Her mouth dropped open, her eyes wide. _“No…”_

“No?”

“No! I mean yes!” She stood and nearly knocked him over with a hug. “Yes! Absolutely, that’s amazing! Really? I can’t believe…”

“Neither can I,” he felt numb.

“Oh… I’m so happy for you! And for her! For both of you! This is amazing!”

“Is it?”

“Yes! How far along is she?”

“Er… a few months, from the sound of it.”

“This is so exciting! Can I tell Iz?”

“Yes, but please keep it between the two of you for a little while.”

“He’s going to be so happy! Can we babysit?”

“I think that would be appreciated.”

“When do you find out the gender? Are you going to?”

“I have no clue about either of those things.”

“What do you want? A boy or a girl?”

“Um…”

The door opened and Iz walked in. Hux really shouldn’t have been surprised. Iz always had the worst timing.

He smiled at them. “Hey. How are you two?”

“Iz! I’m going to be a sister!”

Thankfully the door had just enough time to close before she spoke.

Iz’s eyebrows rose. “Oh? With Oni?” He cracked a smile. “Congratulations!”

He wondered just how many of them knew about he and Oni. Evidently they hadn’t been as secretive as they thought.

“I guess she’s a few months along, so we probably only have about seven months or so to prepare… Well. Wait. She’s part Chiss, do they have different gestation periods?” She looked at him like she expected him to know.

“I have no idea.”

She looked at Iz. He shrugged.

“I have to go talk to Oni about this. Is that okay?”

“I’m sure she’d be happy to talk to you.”

Cerys stood and kissed his temple. “Oh… I’m so happy, congratulations. I’ll be back soon. Let’s make food tonight to celebrate, yeah?”

He nodded a little before she hurried out of the room in a flury.

Iz watched after her, laughing. “But really, congratulations. That’s great news.”

“Right. Thank you.” He turned to face him. “There is a matter I would like to discuss with you.”

“Hm?”

There was no tactful way to approach this. “I understand that you and my daughter have been very close for some time and that you’re likely in this for the long run. And I understand that you both probably have plans to build a family together. By all means, I want that for the two of you, and I certainly don’t want to intrude on any timeline you may have set, but…”

Iz started laughing at him. He moved into the seat Cerys was sitting in earlier, leaning forward toward him.

“Do you know your daughter?”

“What? Yes. I like to think so.”

“I guess it makes sense that you haven’t really talked to her about this. Trust me, if it were entirely up to me we’d be having kids next year. But she’s very focused on building her career at the moment. You’ve got a good… probably ten years or so before we start thinking about that.”

He didn’t mean to sigh as loudly as he did. “Oh. That’s… good. Good. That’s likely better for both of you anyway.”

Iz laughed again. “Yeah. You’re panicking, aren’t you?”

Yes. “Not really. No. It’s just… very unexpected.”

Iz nodded slowly, then looked away. His expression changed slightly. “Listen… this doesn’t come lightly from me: You’re a good father. You keep insisting you’re not, that Cerys is the product of someone other than you, but you’re wrong.” He nodded, looking back at Hux. “I mean that. You’ve been a good father to her and you’ll be a good father to the next one.”

Hux imagined it was not an easy thing for the man to admit. He nodded. “I hope you’re right.”

Iz inhaled deeply, sitting back in his seat. “I know you’re not big on the Force and how it works and whatnot, but… I already knew you two would have a child.”

“I thought you might. You told me once you’d sensed it with Mika.”

“I actually didn’t figure it out the same way. It was a vision this time.”

A vision. Cute. “Right.”

“I know, it sounds like a lie. But it really did happen. A few days after Oni and Baz showed up.” He smiled. “I could tell you the gender. Hair color. Eye color.”

“You’ll have to excuse me for not believing that.”

He laughed a little, shaking his head. “You don’t have to believe it. I’m not going to tell you, because I think all that’s better left as a surprise. But I will tell you this much: it will be healthy. And both of you will be happy. And Cerys will be happy.”

He looked at Iz for a long moment. This Force thing was really unreliable, at best. It couldn’t be trusted. He’d seen it fail Ren. He’d seen it fail Iz.

But for the first time in his entire life, he found himself desperately wanting to trust in the Force.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU to everyone who read!
> 
> [Pip's playlist](https://virgilvirgilvirgil.tumblr.com/post/165620949467/harkbacker-pip)
> 
> Watch for the sequel, _Four(?) Ring Circus_ , later today! It's a short, sweet story that follows Baz and Sebbie as they start to build a family!


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